If the state’s Department of Public Utilities opens the investigation, Massachusetts would become the third state to launch a formal process to phase out natural gas, the office of Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement.
California and New York are also studying a transition away from relying on natural gas for heating buildings and cooking in favor of electrified systems powered by renewable sources.
In a petition filed with the DPU, Healey’s office said Massachusetts would have to make large cuts in its use of fossil fuels to meet the state’s goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and that the decline would require natural gas distribution companies to make substantial changes to their business models.
