Intermountain works diligently to secure natural gas supply for our customers at the most economical price. This involves looking ahead and predicting, to the best of our ability, the future of natural gas prices. Persistent cold weather, high electric demand – generated by natural gas —  and several other factors can contribute to increased costs.

Intermountain does not earn a profit from the cost of natural gas. Each year, our utility makes a best possible projection of what gas costs will be for the coming year. If there is a difference in what we spend on gas costs and what was planned, then we file a Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) to either credit or recoup the difference.

Idaho’s natural gas utilities are committed to providing safe, reliable service to our customers. Intermountain delivers natural gas through a highly engineered pipeline system in a safe, environmentally sound process. Natural gas pipelines are the safest method of energy transportation, according to National Transportation Safety Board statistics.

Intermountain uses the latest technology, security, and industry practices to monitor pipelines, and maintain service and safety. We implement many programs to ensure your safety: 24/7 design and construction monitoring; integrity management; inspection and patrol; public safety outreach; and communication/training with emergency officials.

The health and safety of our communities is a fundamental value of our company. That’s why we have consistently advocated for proper installation and ventilation of all natural gas equipment. We also intend to support the needs of our customers and communities, and continue to meet or exceed all environmental laws and requirements.

Some organizations and media outlets have recently raised questions about the impacts of residential natural gas cooking on indoor air quality (IAQ). While many of the sources cited in these articles agree that more research is needed before drawing definitive conclusions, electrification advocates are using these reports to drive public policy that would limit or outright ban the use of natural gas.

A Gas Technology Institute Special Report released in Fall of 2022 tested the emissions resulting from cooking with different fuel sources and concluded that “cooking emissions were more a function of the cooking vessel and food product cooked than energy source.”

An international study of data collected from more than 500,000 children in 47 countries has previously demonstrated no link between natural gas stoves and childhood asthma.

While natural gas is safe for use in homes and buildings, health and safety risks can be mitigated through proper maintenance and operation of gas-fired appliances. Intermountain recommends installing carbon monoxide detectors in buildings with gas equipment, and an exhaust for all electric and natural gas ranges, cooktops and ovens to eliminate the normal byproducts of cooking such as steam, smoke, grease and heat.

More information on natural gas safety and cooking can be found at: Cooking with Gas: Indoor Air Quality and Residential Gas Ranges – American Gas Association (aga.org) and at Is Natural Gas Cooking Safe? – Intermountain Gas Company (intgas.com).

Intermountain Gas is proud to serve our Idaho customers with natural gas. Natural gas is a safe and reliable fuel that represents a relatively small percentage of total overall GHG emissions in Idaho. This important resource allows renewable energy to come onto the grid without risk of brown-outs, by meeting space and water heat, cooking, and other needs. This takes pressure off the electric grid to provide this energy. Natural gas also serves as an important back-up fuel in the event of a no-power situation.

Unfortunately, some environmental interests have decided to pick specific fuels and technologies to advance while ignoring the value and benefits of others. These “electrification” proponents have coordinated with local governments and municipalities to encourage policy that limits the use of natural gas. This is especially concerning in colder climates like Idaho where certain electric technologies, like air-source heat pumps, have reduced operational capacity under cold weather conditions. Some local restrictions on the use of natural gas in City buildings have already taken effect as part of Boise’s 2035 Energy Future Plan. While this is concerning, Intermountain believes we can still serve as an effective partner in reliability, resilience, and environmental steward to our customers and communities.

The path to carbon neutrality runs through the pipelines of natural gas suppliers like Intermountain Gas. Through our partnership with the Low Carbon Resource Initiative (LCRI) Intermountain is helping the energy industry focus on large-scale deployment of low-carbon electric generation technologies and low carbon energy sources such as hydrogen, bioenergy, and renewable natural gas (RNG).

Our decades of partnership with GTI and their Operations Technology and Utilization Technology Development (OTD & UTD) teams have helped advance gas heat pump technologies as well as next generation combined heat and power systems leveraging the resiliency, reliability, and economy of gaseous fuels. This includes gas quality sensors for RNG to ensure pipeline grade quality for this fuel, and to preserve the integrity of end-use systems.

We look forward to continuing to partner on these efforts as well as with the North American Gas Heat Pump Collaborative, which seeks to transform the market to state-of-the-art natural gas heat pump technologies. Such opportunities can be leveraged to benefit of our communities as we strive toward deeper efficiency and net zero energy (NZE) buildings.

Intermountain supports the responsible use of our natural resources through energy efficiency. We started our energy efficiency journey in the early 1990’s when we begin offering customer rebates for high-efficiency furnaces. We’ve grown our programs significantly over time.

Since 2018 we have provided rebates to our residential and commercial customers for the purchase of energy efficient equipment and upgrades. During this time, we have processed over 15,000 applications across our service area and issued about $11.7 million in rebates. As a result, Intermountain customers have saved more than 1.5 million therms, or enough energy to serve over 1,000 homes annually.

Intermountain is also recognized as a leader driving energy efficient residential construction across our service area, receiving the 2021 ENERGY STAR ® Market Leader Award. We look forward to continuing these important efforts.

RNG is refined biogas sourced from landfills, wastewater treatment plants, farms, dairies, and other methane sources that would otherwise go into the atmosphere. Depending on the source it derives from, RNG is often carbon neutral or negative, and lowers the overall GHG intensity of the natural gas pipeline system.

As of April 2021, Intermountain’s pipelines transported more than 480,000 dekatherms of RNG from three dairy digesters to end-use customers— or enough to serve 14,000 homes for a year. We look forward to adding more RNG into our system as it becomes available.

Federal policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provide funding to states for new decarbonization and electrification strategies. Both laws have money available for investments in gas-inclusive decarbonization strategies such as renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and energy efficiency. However, the Inflation Reduction Act also provides grants which encourage conversions from natural gas to electricity at the state and local level. We believe that it is important for home and business owners to retain the right to choose the energy source that’s the best fit for their needs.

A balanced electric grid is a healthy electric grid. Retaining our right to choose the fuel source for our homes and businesses benefits everyone. Energy choice supports energy affordability and makes our communities better able to withstand strains on the grid and extreme weather events, reducing the risk of outages. It also allows companies to operate with the fuel that best serves their needs, from manufacturing concrete, to serving food cooked over a gas flame at your local restaurant.

If you have concerns about policies that restrict energy choice, you’re not alone. A Pew Research Center poll from the end of January 2022 found that most Americans would like the country to keep a mix of fossil fuels and renewable energy to heat and power their homes.

Whether for or against continued energy choice and the use of natural gas as a decarbonization solution, it’s important that all voices are heard regarding our state’s energy future.

Get directly involved in preserving your energy choice through www.nwenergychoice.org.