Fortis B.C. asks Metro Vancouver to reject recommendations for a quicker move away from fossil fuels

Fortis B.C. is asking the Metro Vancouver board to reject calls for an accelerated move away from natural gas and to instead stick with existing timelines.

On Friday, the board’s climate committee will ask for support from the full Metro board to go to the province with recommendations advocated by the City of Richmond and endorsed by Metro staff in early July.

These would include asking the province for legislation to quicken a transition away from natural gas and also renewable natural gas, which is produced from organic waste from farms, landfills and water treatment plants. Both are products that Fortis sells.

In a recent letter to Metro chairman George Harvie obtained by Postmedia News, Fortis vice-president Doug Slater highlights one recommendation from Richmond. That recommendation is ban the use of renewable natural gas and hydrogen fuels made from natural gas in new buildings, in order to meet greenhouse-gas limits and move more quickly to using electricity.