A decade of poor energy policy decisions from extreme politicians in New York and New England are stinging consumers, small businesses and manufacturers across the Northeast. Faced with inadequate pipeline capacity to move natural gas from Pennsylvania northward, New Englanders today face heating bill spikes and grid blackouts, as the region is forced to import natural gas and turn to costly and high-emitting fuel sources, such as heating oil and diesel.

Severe pipeline blockades have already driven average natural gas prices up 160% in cities including Boston, New York City and Chicago, according to recent S&P Global analysis. In fact, expanding pipeline capacity out of Pennsylvania would save American consumers an average of $5.5 billion annually.

Cold Hard Facts

The recent S&P study comes on the heels of constituent outrage in Rhode Island and Massachusetts as consumers there face skyrocketing winter heating bills. While politicians like Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy and New York Governor Kathy Hochul try to shift blame, it’s their policies, and those of their predecessors, that have caused the northeast’s energy crisis.

In the study, released this week, S&P identified several key findings including:

  • U.S. natural gas production has grown 3x faster than LNG exports since 2010.
  • Natural gas prices have trended lower, even as the U.S. became the world’s leading LNG exporter
  • Prices for U.S. families and businesses are now among the lowest in the world.
  • Advancing six U.S. LNG projects that were halted under President Biden could cut 65 million tons of GHGs annually.
  • Through 2040, these projects could avert 780 million tons of emissions, equal to one-third of the EU’s energy-related emissions cuts over the past decade.

Partisan Energy Blockade

Partisan opposition to pipeline development prevents American families and businesses’ access to stable, reliable, domestic energy, as well as economic and job opportunities. At the federal level, continued permitting delays and constant litigation prevent Pennsylvania and our nation from fully capitalizing on the benefits of our natural gas resources.

“Over the past four years, the Biden Administration undertook a litany of policy objectives intended to constrain domestic natural gas production and supply. Moreover, Biden Administration officials repeatedly touted the importance of discontinuing domestic natural gas usage. The law of supply and demand teaches us that nothing can have a more significant impact on consumer prices than constraining supply,” wrote Jim Welty, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, in a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Energy.

S&P’s study comes as New England politicians, including Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, continue to voice concerns over rising energy costs while continuing to oppose  the best solution to the problem: expanded pipeline infrastructure in the northeast. As demand for natural gas has surged, opposition from anti-energy activist groups has stalled new pipeline projects at every turn, creating growing constraints on pipelines delivering natural gas out of Pennsylvania – a challenge highlighted just this week at a public hearing in Rhode Island, where residents voiced concerns over high energy bills.

“The Northeast has walled itself off from some of the most affordable energy in the world, but it doesn’t have to be that way,” said Marty Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute. “Residents in New York and New England are paying the highest energy prices in the country due to the choices of elected officials to stop the kind of pipeline projects that exist almost everywhere else in the country.”

Build Baby Build

As EQT’s Toby Rice recently coined during an interview with Bloomberg, it’s no longer just a matter of “Drill Baby, Drill”, we need to “Build Baby, Build”.

By expanding pipeline capacity, Americans could save an estimated $76 billion by 2040, providing much-needed relief to households and businesses in the Northeast. In Pennsylvania, the economic benefits would extend beyond energy savings to include job creation and infrastructure investments.

It is time for decisive action.

For the U.S. to meet its energy needs, support economic growth and contribute to global energy security, we must prioritize the expansion of natural gas infrastructure. If the Commonwealth is permitted to move forward with pipeline development, the state would not only help meet rising domestic energy demand but also position itself as a critical player in the global energy market.