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City considers renewing franchise agreement with Northwest Natural Gas

by Nan Ahnert, Environmental Stewardship Committee

The Northwest Natural Gas (NWNG) franchise agreement is up for renewal by the City of Eugene. There are many moving parts involving the city and NWNG. The City of Eugene and NWNG have a franchise agreement allowing NWNG access to a right of way for which a fee is charged to them by the city. That 20-year agreement expired roughly a year ago. Prior to expiration, the city and NWNG entered negotiations for a new agreement. The city asked for a carbon reduction agreement as part of the renewal. Currently, consensus has yet to be reached and the existing franchise agreement has been extended three times; the most recent extension expires in May, 2021. The City Council recently met to discuss the agreement and, since no compromise exists, are considering whether to let the previous franchise agreement extension lapse.

Detailed information is available in the Amended Agenda for the Eugene City Council meeting on February 8, 2021 and the City of Eugene’s Climate Action Plan 2 (CAP2) as it relates to natural gas.

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