In the interest of cutting down on fossil fuel emissions and encouraging electrification, the Bend City Council approved a policy proposal on Feb. 18 that would add a scaled fee to the installation of natural gas equipment in residential homes.
The fee, which the councilors will vote in April whether to implement, would be set at 20% of the maximum potential fee based on the proposed fee calculation that city staff presented.
If Bend’s fee is approved, that would make it the second city in the state after the City of Ashland enacted a similar fee in Feb. 2025.
Councilor Megan Norris recused herself from the vote because she works for Hayden Homes, a local residential home builder that is opposed to the natural gas fee because it would have a financial impact on its construction. Council Megan Perkins was the sole dissenter, saying she didn’t think “it’s the right mechanism for what we want” in regard to curbing carbon emissions.
The Source previously reported on the notable public attendance at the City of Bend’s Feb. 11 work session, where councilors discussed “Electrification Policy Process Fee Options.” That session didn’t allow public comment, yet the Feb. 18 Council meeting was thronged with members of the public, several of whom brought pro-climate signage, who gave public input regarding the fee.
A study from the Energy Trust of Oregon shows that, from 2021 to 2023, 86% of newly constructed homes in Bend were installed with natural gas heating; gas furnaces made up 63% of that figure.
More details on the natural gas installation fee are available online on the City of Bend’s City Council Business Meeting Agenda.
This article appears in the Source February 26, 2026.
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