The High Cost of Bad Energy Policy, And We All feel It.
Over the past 5 years, electricity prices have soared nationwide. I'm sure you've noticed this! For years climate activists have blocked pipelines, mandated expensive wind and solar and blocked new natural gas infrastructure. Then act shocked when bills triple. Europe tried this for 30 years, now they pay three to four times more for electricity than Americans.
When President Trump took office last year, he declared an energy emergency and moved to accelerate domestic production. His administration argued that the Biden-era Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) had used regulatory power to stall critical energy projects under the banner of “fighting climate change.” Those delays helped drive electricity rates higher across the country.
The cost of electricity has risen significantly since 2021:
Washington: up 32.8%
Oregon: up 37.6%
Massachusetts: up 38.7% over five years
Connecticut: up 29.4%
Maine: up 65.3%
D.C.: up 73.7% since 2020
California: up 59.1%
Maryland: up nearly 50%
Colorado: up 28.2%
Arizona: up 24.9%
Michigan & Minnesota: both up over 20%
Now with new commissioners, FERC is reversing course and trying to get costs down for Americans. One major reform, passed unanimously, updates the “Blanket Program,” streamlining approvals for infrastructure improvements at existing sites. If a company already built a natural gas storage facility with FERC approval, it shouldn’t have to repeat years of paperwork to build a second one on the same property. The reform speeds up “brownfield” projects that expand infrastructure already in use.
But blue states are fighting it. Fifteen Democratic Attorneys General, led by Washington’s Nick Brown and Massachusetts’ Andrea Campbell, petitioned FERC to keep permitting slow and expensive. They claim the reforms threaten “ratepayers,” even though their own states have some of the highest electricity prices in America.
New York’s AG Letitia James is defending red tape on gas pipelines while New Yorkers absorb a 43.7% rate hike. New York sits atop one of the world’s largest natural gas deposits, but green mandates forbid developing it. Governor Kathy Hochul continues delaying her own climate policies until after November, hoping voters won’t notice. When is a “climate crisis” not a crisis? When it threatens re-election.
The AGs opposing FERC’s reforms are doing so for political reasons, not economic ones. If they spent half the energy they devote to litigation on demanding faster permitting, their states wouldn’t be leading the nation in rate hikes. But that would require admitting their policies failed and risking backlash from green donors who bankroll their campaigns.
So again, politics wins. Ratepayers lose. And until these AGs choose pragmatism over partisanship, millions of Americans will continue struggling to pay those bills!
