Gov. Maura Healey says she has by no means stopped gasoline pipelines from getting into the state and that pure gasoline is a vital power supply in Massachusetts, a declare that has fired up critics who level to earlier remarks and say the governor is “gaslighting” them.
Gov. Healey has ordered the state Division of Public Utilities to get rid of as many further costs from shoppers’ payments as attainable, saying that Bay State power prices stay too excessive.
However within the eyes of critics, the extreme utility prices are instantly tied to Healey’s opposition to gasoline pipelines and her decarbonization agenda. A video has resurfaced from 2022, when the then lawyer normal instructed an viewers, “Remember, I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state.”
After calling on utility regulators to provoke a “comprehensive review of gas and electric rates and charges,” Healey made a stance that critics argue contradicts her feedback as lawyer normal.
“I have never stopped pipelines,” the governor instructed reporters final week. “What I did was I stood up for ratepayers and said that was a bad deal. … Our view was ‘No, you put it on the backs of shareholders.’ That’s what the court ultimately decided.”
“I have been clear: We need all forms of energy right now into the state to lower costs,” she added, “to bring more supply in. I have been supportive of gas.”
As AG, Healey approved a examine in 2015 that discovered Massachusetts didn’t want a brand new pure gasoline pipeline, as investing extra in power effectivity would guarantee the electrical grid’s reliability via 2030.
Shortly after, power big Kinder Morgan Inc. backed out of a $3.3 billion pure gasoline pipeline proposed via Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. The state Supreme Judicial Court docket additionally dominated that the venture would have violated state legislation.
Sky-high power payments turned a predominant sticking level final winter when some shoppers noticed their residence heating payments spike by upwards of fifty%. Issues didn’t enhance a lot over the summer season as some electrical clients noticed their charges soar by 12% or extra.
New Bedford resident Elijah DeSousa based the Residents In opposition to Eversource final winter. The group has introduced mild to how the through-the-roof prices have been related to elevated funding for Mass Save, an initiative supporting Massachusetts’ “statutorily-required greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.”
Residents In opposition to Eversource is working to assemble sufficient signatures for 3 questions that intention to reform the power sector on the 2026 poll. A main purpose of the measures is to “promote consent and transparency in utility billing.”
“Gov. Healey is literally gaslighting us,” DeSousa instructed the Herald. “The preposterous part is that she is trying to use the DPU as a scapegoat. … We know that as Governor, she is the source of every single excessive charge on our utility bills.”
The governor’s workplace instructed the Herald on Sunday that Healey takes an “all-of-the-above approach to energy sources,” and that she has “always prioritized ratepayer impacts and system reliability.”
The workplace additionally highlighted that Healey, as AG, supported a $972 million venture that elevated the pure gasoline capability on the Algonquin Gasoline Transmission pipeline system, bringing the Bay State further pure gasoline from the Appalachian Basin.
In September, the governor signaled help for Eversource’s proposal to lock in additional pure gasoline for Massachusetts by increasing the Algonquin Gasoline Transmission pipeline even additional.
Eversource has stated the proposal would scale back reliance on expensive, imported liquefied pure gasoline from the Everett Marine Terminal, reducing buyer payments by roughly $400 million over 10 years.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Shortsleeve instructed the Herald that it seems that Healey is “rewriting history” as she has flip-flopped her positions on pure gasoline over time.
“All you have to do is listen to her own words when she said, ‘Remember, I stopped two gas pipelines from coming into this state,’” Shortsleeve stated in a press release. “She was lying then, or she is lying now, and as utility bills skyrocket, she is praying voters don’t remember.”
Fellow GOP candidate Mike Kennealy echoed Shortsleeve, accusing the governor of mendacity.
“I’ll make sure every voter in this Commonwealth remembers what she did,” he stated in a press release.
The state’s main gasoline firms have once more warned of elevated heating prices for this coming winter, with some clients going through a 17% spike in gasoline costs.
Healey has stated it’s as much as DPU to “act aggressively” to assist shoppers with their payments. “The department must continue to rigorously review utility rate cases to avoid unnecessary spending and drive down costs,” she wrote in a letter to the division final week.
The governor can also be calling on the DPU to maneuver forward with excellent photo voltaic allowing, which might develop electrical provide to the state’s grid. The plan, Healey stated, seems to offer sufficient energy to equal a completely new gas-powered electrical plant.
Final winter, Vitality and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper highlighted how Massachusetts supplies a “significant amount of natural gas to the entire region” via the liquefied pure gasoline facility in Everett.
“The issue that we have in New England is that for a few days of the year, prices are high, maybe seven days,” Tepper stated, catching sharp criticism. “You don’t build a gigantic pipeline for seven days a year.”
The watchdog Fiscal Alliance Basis performed a ballot of roughly 800 Bay Staters final winter that confirmed seemingly voters viewing an growth of pure gasoline pipelines extra favorably than a full dedication to renewables.
The Fiscal Alliance has additionally warned that residents and companies can “expect electricity rates to double, along with rolling blackouts” underneath a plan to scale back carbon emissions by a minimum of 80% by 2050, and when Massachusetts is required to hit internet zero.
“Gov. Maura Healey created this environment for higher utility costs,” Government Director Paul Diego Craney instructed the Herald. “She bragged about shutting down natural gas. … These higher energy costs are a direct result of Governor Healey’s climate mandates and her Administration’s insistence (on enforcing) them.”
