Just days before the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in Boulder’s climate lawsuit, one of the original all stars of the “Green 20” attorneys general has made a notable reappearance in the energy debate. Except this time, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey wants more natural gas.
Gov. Healey, who spent years opposing new gas pipeline projects, celebrated stopping two pipelines from entering Massachusetts,
In an October 1 letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright, Healey urged the administration to expedite federal review of project, noting that additional gas supply could lower costs for New England consumers:
“I write today to urge the Trump Administration to join with Massachusetts and focus your efforts to increase gas supply in New England on viable projects that can be built quickly and that bring real savings to customers.”
The timing is difficult to miss.
With energy affordability again a major political issue in Massachusetts and Healey seeking reelection, it’s clear she will say whatever she needs to in an election year. Will she continue to support natural gas development when her name is not on the ballot? Her historic energy policies have been all over the place, raising doubts.
Repeated Efforts to Restrict Pipelines
Thursday’s letter is a stark contrast from 2018 when then-Attorney General Healey doubled down on being more comfortable with importing Russian LNG than building critical pipeline infrastructure across New England. As E&E News (now Politico) reported at the time:
“Yet many policymakers in the deep-blue region are dead-set against any new gas pipelines, saying that the priority needs to be scaling up renewable energy and phasing out fossil fuels. Buying occasional shipments of LNG in the winter, they argue, is the better way to go.
“’LNG is a more efficient and economical way to meet energy needs during instances of high winter demand than building high-risk and costly pipelines that are not needed to maintain reliability,’ Chloe Gotsis, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D), said by email. ‘Continuing to rely on pipelines is too risky for ratepayers and our climate.’” (emphasis added)
Healey’s administration has disliked natural gas pipelines so much that she was willing to import Russian fuel instead of using America’s abundant natural gas supply. Later, when campaigning for governor, Healey specifically touted her successful efforts to block gas pipeline development:
“Remember, I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state.”
In 2020, Healey alleged that natural gas use did not align with the state’s 2050 climate goals.
“In order to combat the climate crisis and meet our clean energy goals, we must transition away from fossil fuels and change the way gas utilities do business in our state.” (emphasis added)
Six years later, “transitioning away” from fossil fuels now includes asking the Trump administration to accelerate federal approval of new gas capacity.
New England Residents Pay the High Cost of Bad Policy
Massachusetts residents continue to face some of the highest electricity prices in the country, which should come as no surprise after decades of blocking affordable and reliable natural gas projects.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration has documented how pipeline constraints in New England have raised electricity prices, forcing power plants to operate using expensive fuel oils instead.
A recent study from the Fiscal Alliance Foundation found that ratepayers in Massachusetts would have saved over $367 million on average over the last several winters if the state had more natural gas infrastructure.
Bottom Line: Healey’s anti-energy policies have created the problem that she now wants the Trump administration to fix. Has Healey really seen that natural gas remains an affordable and reliable source of energy? Or is this another last-minute campaign stunt that will promptly be abandoned on November 4?
