Interview: T.J. Szelistowski

T.J. Szelistowski President Peoples Gas

For many, making housing hurricane-resilient is an endeavor that conflicts with affordable housing, but the Tampa Bay Regional Planning council’s new Resilient and Energy Assessment of Communities and Housing (REACH) program is the first step by the authorities to bring both concepts together to make housing in Tampa Bay more sustainable. The program was recently awarded a $500,000 grant to increase the region’s affordable, resilient housing stock and identify strategies to mitigate climate risks. In Gov. DeSantis’ latest budget proposal for Florida, the House approved $147 million for affordable housing programs, including $25 million for the hurricane housing recovery program.

Utilities

Water Tampa’s water infrastructure is struggling to cope with the demands of a swelling population and dwindling public investment. But last summer Hillsborough County took the first steps to address its water woes by announcing a plan to inject $171 million in the rehabilitation and replacement of 147 miles of

How is Peoples Gas innovating in terms of technology?

The last time we spoke, we discussed implementing gasfired heat pumps that use natural gas instead of electricity for air conditioning. We are currently working with several customers on installations of this technology. Additionally, we have installed the technology in three of our facilities and have been pleased with the performance. In terms of other technologies, we are targeting farming and waste facilities that release methane into the air. Our environmental solution is to capture that methane and clean it up to reinject it into the system. This not only provides a cleaner form of natural gas but also reduces methane emissions. We look forward to announcing some significant projects with this technology in the near future.

How is natural gas able to help meet sustainability goals and reduce environmental footprints?

Natural gas is the perfect partner to renewable solar energy to provide capacity when the sun is not shining and to ensure energy is available to customers around the clock. Additionally, natural gas can provide great environmental benefits by replacing diesel fuel usage in large vehicles, such as buses and waste-management trucks.

Why has natural gas failed to penetrate the market in Florida in the same way it has in the Northeast?

Natural gas interstate transmission pipelines are relatively new to Florida compared with the Northeast, having been introduced only in the 1950s. In addition, natural gas is a primary source of space heating in many parts of the country. With limited space heating in Florida, natural gas is primarily used for cooking, water heating and clothes drying in addition to industrial uses. We see a great desire for natural gas by people who have moved from other parts of the country and have enjoyed using natural gas in the past.