National Grid’s different gas-electric forecasts are responsible planning

This is a response to an earlier opinion piece that argued utilities like National Grid use mismatched gas and electric forecasts to justify spending that raises customer bills. National Grid's general counsel, Philip DeCicco, pushes back, saying the two forecasts measure different things for different reasons. In its Upstate New York territory, National Grid's electric business serves about 1.7 million customers, nearly three times the 600,000 served by its gas business. The electric forecast counts all new heat pump installations, while the gas forecast only counts customers switching away from natural gas heat. Since about 60% of heat pump installs in that territory replace oil or propane heat, not gas, those show up only in electric planning, not gas planning. He also notes that only about 5% of customers who add a heat pump fully disconnect from gas — most keep it for water heating, cooking, or drying clothes, or run a dual-fuel setup that still uses gas on the coldest days.

For homeowners, this is less about your own bill right now and more about how utilities justify infrastructure spending, which does eventually show up in gas and electric rates. If you're weighing a heat pump, the piece is a reminder that adding one often doesn't mean giving up your gas line or gas bill entirely unless you specifically choose to disconnect. Whether these forecasting fights raise or lower rates over time depends on ongoing utility regulatory proceedings, not anything you need to act on today.