In 2015, then-Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey released a report asserting that no new natural gas pipelines were needed into the region and that the region’s power grid faced “no reliability deficiency” through at least 2030. All was fine, said the Attorney General.
Fast forward a decade, and now Governor Healey’s constituents face a reckoning due to the political calculations of the past. New England customers are faced with higher-than-average utility bills, natural gas shortages that require power plants to run on fuel oil, and an electric grid straining to meet new demands for power as current policies discourage the construction of new plants. Gov. Healey, in a political understatement for the ages, said she was “deeply troubled” by the rising energy costs and looming energy crisis.
The solution to this problem is quite simple and has been apparent for well over a decade: build and expand the pipeline infrastructure necessary to take natural gas from Pennsylvania into New England markets. Unfortunately, Governor Healey and politicians before her have created the very crisis they now seek to abate.
Federal permitting reforms which prohibit states from abusing the permitting process and commonsense policies that promote the build out of pipeline infrastructure are critically needed to expand access to safe, responsibly produced natural gas.
Infrastructure Constrains Access to Markets
Rising home heating costs and reliability challenges that have plagued New England are entirely preventable problems that should not be burdening residents and small businesses. New England sits adjacent to Pennsylvania and the largest natural gas producing region in the country. Yet, the critical energy infrastructure to move clean, affordable natural gas to market is at full capacity, with expansions and new builds of pipelines blocked by poor political decisions.
“Natural gas and electricity price spikes in New England in the winter are common because pipeline constraints often limit deliveries of natural gas into the region and to power plants,” U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) analysts have said previously.
Ultimately, pipeline delays harm economic progress and consumers, while undermining American energy security. The results of past political choices are bearing out in the form of unnecessarily higher prices, supply shortages, and grid instability. At the end of 2023, for example, New Englanders paid 31% more for natural gas compared to U.S. averages, and more than 36% higher electricity prices than Pennsylvania consumers due to lack of natural gas power generation.
Infrastructure Buildout is the Solution
Moving gas to market means getting the resources to consumers who rely on them to heat their homes and keep the lights on. Unfortunately, Appalachia has seen its fair share of energy projects blocked by misguided politicians and other climate activists, who have denied customers affordable energy choices.
PennEast Pipeline, Constitution Pipeline, Northeast Supply Enhancement, and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have been stalled, delayed or scrapped entirely due to radical environmental activism and extreme politics.
And the lone infrastructure success for the Appalachian Basin, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), actually took an act of Congress to complete and become operational. Poor policies impacting infrastructure harm more than just consumers; they harm the Pennsylvania royalty owners who receive significantly less than their counterparts across the country, because the natural gas produced from underneath their property can’t be moved efficiently to market.
Federal Policy Changes
Fortunately, some relief could be on the way, as President Trump recently signaled support for completing the Constellation Pipeline, which would transport natural gas from Pennsylvania to New England.
“We are going to get this done, and once we start construction, we’re looking at anywhere from nine to 12 months, if you can believe it,” the President said. “It will bring down the energy prices in New York and in all of New England by 50, 60, 70%.” But these changes only work if state elected officials start to prioritize the interests of their constituents over the interests of the radical idealogues who oppose American energy development.
Durable, comprehensive federal permit reform is necessary to encourage critical infrastructure growth, from pipelines to transmission lines. While past bipartisan efforts have fallen short, new Congressional action is underway, supported by Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Dave McCormick. These efforts will help ensure consumers across the U.S. have access to reliable, affordable energy, led by domestically produced natural gas.
As Senator McCormick has correctly opined, “the road to energy dominance goes through Pennsylvania.”
