APGA members met in Washington, D.C. on May 3 and 4 to take part in the 2016 Government Relations Conference and to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. APGA holds an annual Government Relations Conference in Washington, D.C., as part of the spring board meeting.
In addition to receiving updates on key natural gas issues, another critical component of this event is APGA members meeting with their congressional delegations. Having congressional representatives hear directly from their constituents on key issues of interest to public natural gas systems has greatly helped APGA’s advocacy efforts. As has occurred in previous years, many members of the APGA Public Gas Policy Council attended this year’s event to participate in meetings on the Hill. The Public Gas Policy Council is made up of elected and appointed officials from public natural gas communities. Nominations for new members of the Public Gas Policy Council will be sent out in the fall. This year, the Public Gas Policy Council will meet again in DC on September 7 and 8.
At this year’s conference, APGA members met with approximately 60 congressional offices to communicate their views on important legislative issues. Issues that were raised on Capitol Hill included the direct-use of natural gas, proposed rulemakings for efficiency standards of natural gas furnaces released by the Department of Energy, and reauthorization of the Pipeline Safety Act. On May 3, the day concluded with a reception in the Senate Agriculture Committee hearing room, which was well attended by congressional staff and representatives from many of the energy trade associations that APGA works with.
For questions on this year’s conference, please contact Dave Schryver, Scott Morrison, or Dan Lapato of APGA staff by email at
dschryver@apga.org,
smorrison@apga.org, and
dlapato@apga.org or by phone at 202-464-2742.