Natural Allies Reminds Massachusetts Lawmakers Targeted by Sierra Club: Voters Don’t Back Their Extreme Policies
(Washington) The Natural Allies Leadership Council, including former Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), former Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), former Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL, former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) and former Mayor Michael Nutter (D-Philadelphia) issued the following statement:
“Nearly 80% of Massachusetts Democrats and 84% of Governor Healey job approvers support a balanced energy policy of more natural gas working with more renewables. Lawmakers should be able to revisit policies that aren’t working to instead help lower costs for constituents, protect reliability, and lower emissions – particularly when policies without natural gas raise energy cost burdens on low-income families, according to the Progressive Policy Institute. Massachusetts has among the highest electric bills in America.
Lawmakers like State House Energy Chair Mark Cusack and House Speaker Ron Mariano should reject threats from groups like the Sierra Club. The Sierra Club’s well-intended but misguided policies have driven up energy costs for New Englanders. Just this week, over 40% of the New England power grid was generated by burning barrels of fuel oil to avoid mass blackouts because the region ran out of natural gas to make electricity. And while renewables are critical to help decarbonize the grid, we must be honest about their limitations. During the storm, renewables created about 5% of electricity – nearly all from wood and garbage burning – as hydro power imports from Canada and local wind and solar all failed. And, in an ironic turn of events, their policies have led to large increases in carbon emissions into the atmosphere by forcing consumers to burn very expensive fuel oil instead of much cheaper natural gas that they could easily get from neighboring Pennsylvania. The region even had to import natural gas from a foreign LNG cargo ship to shore up supplies.
Democrats win when we speak to working-class and kitchen table issues. Nearby Democratic Governors like Ned Lamont, Kathy Hochul, and Josh Shapiro all recognize these realities. Massachusetts leaders should, too. More renewables with more natural gas, in a balanced energy strategy, is good policy and good politics.”
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