It has been quite a year. While 2020 will surely mostly be remembered for the pandemic and contentious politics—or even murder hornets and sourdough bread—in many ways, this has been the year of social justice.
It has been a year when the country, if not the world, seems to finally be standing up and demanding racial equity for people of color. While race relations have made headlines numerous times before, change truly seems to be in the air—and changes have certainly been occurring throughout the natural gas sector. Like many other industries, utilities from coast to coast have been united in working to fight the plight of systemic racism in a way that seems unprecedented. From messaging to donations to fighting for natural gas access, utilities have been doing what they do best when there is a problem.
They are directing energy toward helping to solve it.
“Like all Americans, we have shared in the anger and frustration over racial injustice that has occurred over the last few weeks,” Diane Leopold said when protests were making national news every day. Leopold is the executive vice president and co-chief operating officer of Dominion Energy and board chair of the American Gas Association.
“We are part of the fabric of the communities we serve. When our communities, our neighbors and our colleagues are in distress, so are we,” she added.
Which explains how, on June 4, the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation came to announce a $5 million commitment to support social justice and community rebuilding efforts that will be made over the next two years. The funds are going to nonprofit organizations advocating for social justice and equality, and grants will also be designated to assist minority-owned and small businesses that have faced a host of recent disruptions.
Leopold doesn’t mince words when asked about the donation. She feels that it is needed but that more must be done, describing the donation as a starting point. “I view this as an integral part of our mission to protect the safety and security of our employees and the communities we serve,” she said.
Dominion has already identified some nonprofits that it plans to partner with, including the United Black Fund of Cleveland and My Brother’s Keeper in North Carolina. “Our foundation has committed to match any donations from our employees,” Leopold said in July. “That’s important, because our people are passionate about wanting to make a difference. I have heard this clearly in the last few weeks as we have had some of the most meaningful town halls I’ve ever participated in.”
Also in July, Dominion committed another $35 million over six years to support Black and underrepresented minority students at historically Black colleges and universities in Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as to create a $10 million Dominion Energy Educational Equity scholarship fund to support Black and underrepresented minority students across the company’s service territory.
“We all know there are no actions or words that will immediately heal the hurt caused by 400 years of institutional racism,” said Thomas F. Farrell II, the company’s chairman, president and CEO in a news release. “But since early June, we have seen signs of change and growth. Our country is moving forward. We are moving forward, too. This initiative is a recognition of the important role played by these institutions in African American advancement and the importance of education as an equalizer in society. These institutions have been foundational in the struggle to improve the lives of African Americans and in the fight for social justice. We are pleased and humbled to build on our company’s nearly 40-year history of supporting historically black colleges and universities.”
Dominion Energy is hardly the only natural gas utility to step up (see also “Sending Money Where It Matters,” page 15). The day after George Floyd’s life ended underneath the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis, Southern Company Gas, headquartered in Atlanta, announced a $1 million donation to the Morehouse School of Medicine.
The timing was a little surreal and may seem like a response to current events, but it was actually part of an initiative that Southern Company Gas had put in motion back in 2019, long before the protests and long before people were learning terms like “social distancing” and “sheltering in place,” according to Kimberly S. Greene, chair, president and CEO of Southern Company Gas.
Greene was in the midst of getting ready to make a donation to the Morehouse School of Medicine when she consulted with Christopher C. Womack, executive vice president and president, external affairs, who has been with Southern Company Gas since 1988. She learned that Womack was conceiving a plan for the utility to donate $50 million to historically Black universities and colleges to support career readiness and develop future leaders. The Morehouse donation would become part of that plan.
The $1 million donation to Morehouse, in other words, is just the beginning of Southern Company Gas’ fight for social justice.
But they say timing is everything, and the $1 million that the utility has given to Morehouse came arguably just in time, considering how the coronavirus has exposed racial divides in quality health care. Greene says that while she has been told the money will go toward strengthening the college’s academic offerings, it will also help to provide greater equity in health care. That there needs to be more parity in health care has been made obvious by so many minorities being disproportionately affected by the coronavirus.
Some of that $1 million will also go toward the development of the school’s emerging pathogens research team, which will focus on, among other things, battling the coronavirus.
Offering the money to Morehouse made sense. For starters, it’s in Atlanta, where Southern Company Gas is based, and it has a rich and deserved reputation. When Greene toured the college last year, it stirred up memories of how she had considered a career in medicine—and she half found herself contemplating how pragmatic it would be to retire and try to embark on a second career as a doctor.
“I was so inspired by the students and the professors,” Greene said. “The energy in that school—it’s palpable. Morehouse is absolutely amazing.”
But donations, of course, are only part of the social justice and natural gas equation. Where it’s possible, executives at gas utilities are also eager to expand their offerings and deliver vital energy to parts of the country without access yet—and that includes impoverished, vulnerable populations.
Nicor Gas, a part of Southern Company Gas and headquartered in Naperville, Illinois, has been working for some time with legendary civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson to get a 30-mile, $8.2 million natural gas pipeline to Pembroke Township, Illinois, which has 2,100 residents without natural gas heat, many of them Black. In fact, Black Americans make up 80% of the township’s city, Hopkins Park, about 65 miles south of Chicago. The people there stay warm using propane, electrical space heaters and wood-burning stoves, all of which can be difficult to use.
“Pembroke Township is faced with a fundamental lack of access to clean, safe, reliable and affordable natural gas. We would like to change that,” Greene said.
Jackson isn’t generally known for being a fossil fuel champion—he opposed the Dakota Access oil pipeline, for instance—but he reportedly immediately saw the need for a natural gas pipeline to Pembroke, which would benefit the community by providing more affordable heating options as well as much-needed jobs. Indeed, as the mayor of Hopkins Park, Mark Hodge, told The Chicago Tribune, without natural gas, it’s hard to attract employers.
“We need natural gas to bring in industry,” Hodge said. “Industry creates jobs. Jobs bring families to the community. Families bring more housing. They populate our school. That all brings a stable tax base to the community.”
According to a recent report by the Consumer Energy Alliance, Illinois families and businesses using natural gas saved more than $24 billion during the 10-year study period. That translates to an average annual savings of $879 for homes using natural gas for heating, cooking and clothes drying, compared to homes using electricity for those appliances. “Natural gas savings like this will be especially important for families in the Pembroke Township,” Greene said.
Listening — and Acting
Systemic racism will take time to dismantle, but if you look carefully, you can start to see both subtle and significant changes in the gas industry. DTE Energy, headquartered in Detroit, took a stand in early June, when protests were ongoing nationwide after the death of George Floyd. It launched a compelling social media campaign, using its social media channels to amplify its employees’ voices.
“We don’t think anyone cares,” read one of the messages from an anonymous DTE employee on June 5. “And it feels that we can’t depend on anyone. And it feels constant. I am asking that somehow as an organization, we find a way to acknowledge what is happening in our country right now and how it is impacting the DTE family members in our homes and hearts. Not to acknowledge who’s right or wrong, but to acknowledge the hurt. Silence is loud, but it’s a slippery slope.”
Another message from an anonymous employee that same day stated, “The gravity of what is happening is massive and heavy. I am grieving. We are grieving. In an opposite and odd way, the quarantine is a safety net because I don’t have to pretend to be OK and be on-site for a full day. A simple tone change and camera off will do the trick of hiding what I am feeling. I know I am not the only one.”
In explaining the campaign, Jerry Norcia, DTE president and CEO, said, “Our employees, like many of us, were overwhelmed with despair at the senseless and violent death of George Floyd and others. So, we listened. They shared with us that they were hurting, frustrated and scared. There were powerful perspectives that deserved to be heard beyond the DTE Energy family—and our employees agreed. We invited people to share their memories, stories and hopes on our social media networks. These posts were overwhelmingly well received by employees and people in the communities we serve.”
But, Norcia added, “We didn’t stop there. We joined with other leaders in Detroit to publicly reject all forms of bias, racism and sexism. DTE declared Juneteenth [June 19] a company holiday and day of reflection. During these activities, a number of employees reached out to me to express their appreciation for being heard, for us having their back and taking a stand for equal rights and equal treatment.”
In fact, many gas utilities have begun recognizing Juneteenth. The day marks the end of slavery in the United States and has been observed by Black Americans since the late 1800s. In recent years it has been increasingly acknowledged by people of all colors. It’s hardly a comprehensive list, but just some of the utilities now commemorating Juneteenth include DTE, Dominion, Texas Gas Service, Oklahoma Natural Gas, Spire, ONE Gas, Consumers Energy, LG&E and KU, Nicor Gas, Con Edison, Columbia Gas of Ohio and Southern Company Gas.
Systemic racism will, as noted, take time to dismantle throughout utilities and corporate America, but if there ever is racial equality, one has to think (and hope) that people will look back at 2020 as the year the tide started to turn.
Still, this has been an especially busy season for gas utilities looking to rebalance the scales of racial inequities and social justice. Obviously, it’s a topic that has been frequently in the news, but is there something more to it than that?
Greene thinks so. “The gas industry is very focused on the communities they serve and making them better,” she said. “I would also say that most gas utilities are also very interested in supporting institutions and organizations that are important specifically to their employees.”
Many Black employees, Greene says, at least at Southern Company Gas, have been making it clear to their company that they feel social justice is an important cause to champion. That, and the tumultuous events of 2020, have awakened a lot of people throughout the country to the need for social justice, and not just natural gas executives.
Leopold, in her role at Dominion and as AGA chair, is just as impassioned as Greene. “We will not sit on the sidelines as our country confronts racial injustice,” Leopold said. “Beyond promoting diversity and inclusion within our companies, we have a larger role to play in our society. We will stand up for reforms to end racial discrimination and violence, and we will support community organizations that do the same.”
In fact, Leopold is probably speaking for many natural gas industry executives when she says, “I believe we have an opportunity to demonstrate the same leadership on the climate and racial justice as we have demonstrated throughout the pandemic.”
And while these may feel like bleak times, especially if you’ve recently checked out a coronavirus map or gorged on too much cable news, Leopold doesn’t sound like someone who believes anybody should let current events wilt their optimism.
“We will emerge from the pandemic and the events of the [summer] stronger and with even greater resolve than ever before,” Leopold said. “This is not, and cannot be, a short-term trend. Any company whose mission it is to serve its customers and communities must get involved. Any company whose mission it is to serve the public good must get involved. Any company who cares about its own employees must get involved. What we do matters, and actions always speak louder. We have the opportunity to make a difference. How could we ever choose not to?”
Sending Money Where It Matters
This has been a year when many gas utilities made it clear that they want to be on the right side of history. Some of the many gas energy companies that have donated to social justice causes in the last several months include the following: