By Alec Bryan
You’re not imagining it: your electricity bills are increasing dramatically. Yes, the cost of groceries and gas is increasing, but skyrocketing energy costs are what Long Islanders are talking about.
We pay among the highest electricity rates in the U.S. at 24 cents per kilowatt hour.
And despite the work of state lawmakers to lower energy bills, there’s a hidden factor driving our increased energy costs: liquefied gas export terminals.
You see, the current administration is rapidly greenlighting the development of LNG export terminals, which extract gas from the United States that’s then shipped overseas and sold to the highest bidder. Rather than staying in the U.S., the gas enters the global market, where eager bidders drive up the price, including for consumers right here at home.
America is already on track to double the amount of methane gas it ships abroad, which is what’s driving the sky-high energy bills we’re seeing on Long Island and across the country. But what’s worse, the president and his supporters don’t appear to be done.
They’re working to fast-track even more LNG export terminals through something called “permitting reform.” They say that the current process of reviewing new energy projects takes too long, and that the country needs more new energy sources.
But when they say new energy sources, they don’t mean affordable, clean renewables like wind or solar, which are now cheaper than fossil fuels.
They mean more gas export terminals and fracked gas pipelines. Pipelines like the NESE project, which Democratic members of the congressional delegation recently urged Governor Kathy Hochul to reject.
All of which makes it concerning that Representative Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) has expressed support for these so-called reforms, which would mean even higher energy prices for families right here on Long Island.
Suozzi has spent decades cleaning up and protecting Long Island Sound, supporting commonsense investments in renewable wind projects, fighting to clean up our water and air, and holding polluters accountable.
That’s why families across Long Island are hoping that he comes to his senses and doesn’t allow his hard work to be undone by the president and his supporters in Congress. Long Island families don’t need more gas export terminals or so-called permitting reform. We need lower energy bills, made possible by affordable wind and solar.
Alec Bryan lives in Port Washington.