Electrify Missoula

Missoula's initiative to transition to a healthier, clean energy future.

This website is designed to share information and inspiration about why electrification matters, what it means, and how to make a plan. Not every option will work for every situation, and it's critical to think about your home, business, or nonprofit space as an interconnected system, considering not just your appliances, but also energy efficiency, weatherization, finances, timing of improvements, and more.

We're here to answer questions and are working hard to keep this site updated in a rapidly changing landscape. Thanks for being on this journey with us!

The problem.

In Missoula, many buildings rely on natural gas - which is comprised primarily of methane - for heating & cooling, cooking, laundry and more. In the first 20 years after it's released, methane traps significantly more heat than CO2, and, as a result, our building sector is a major contributor to climate change. Combined methane gas emissions (residential, commercial and industrial) account for 23% of our community's emissions. (Learn more about the climate connection.)

23% of Missoula's emissions come from methane gas use in buildings. We can reduce those emissions today by electrifying!

Burning methane gas in your home can also pose a threat to your household's health and safety. Gas-powered systems contribute to unhealthy indoor and outdoor air quality and rely on fallible gas-line infrastructure. Studies have found that children and other vulnerable populations living in homes with gas stoves have significantly higher rates of asthma and other health issues. Plus, gas is highly combustible when mixed with air, which makes residential gas leaks extremely dangerous. (Read more about the health connection.)

Let's be honest, methane gas is a pollutant and there are several reasons to prioritize switching to electric!

Why electrify?

Improve: Health & Comfort
Replacing gas appliances with electric appliances creates safer, healthier indoor environments by decreasing air pollution.

Plus, electrified systems can make your space more comfortable - like heat pumps, which can both heat and cool!

Cooking with methane gas can lead to levels of indoor air pollutants that the EPA would consider hazardous outdoors ! We're learning that all gas appliances leak. The more we learn about the health implications of burning methane gas, the more the concern. Learn more about health impacts here.

Save: Energy
High-efficiency electric appliances can offer energy savings over traditional gas appliances, even in cold climates.

Reduce: Emissions
Electrifying your building reduces climate-heating pollution, regardless of electricity source (aka, even in Montana). Efficient technology uses less energy overall.

Plus, the City of Missoula and Missoula County have established a goal of 100% clean electricity for the Missoula urban area by 2030. Although the electricity most Missoulians use today is only ~ 55% "clean," this will improve as we work to increase the production of clean energy.

Informational graphic that breaks down data by numbers: 560 MILLION TONS The amount of CO2e (equivalent) generated per year from American homes & businesses that burn methane gas, oil or propane on-site to heat their spaces & water. Number of premature deaths per year from illness attributed to household air pollution caused by inefficient use of fossil fuels. 3.8 MILLION DEATHS 50-400% HIGHER NO2 emissions are this much higher in homes that have gas stoves instead of electric ones. NO2 can be incredibly detrimental to health.

A just transition.

The transition to clean energy is inevitable. A just and equitable transition is not.
Equitable Electrification means actively engaging communities that have been marginalized and historically left out of economic and community development conversations and opportunities. It means ensuring that the financial, health, and social costs of the energy transition aren't simply passed along to our most vulnerable community members. We don't have all the answers, but we are working to make this transition a democratic one and to make going electric affordable for all Missoulians.