The Northeast Climate Revolt

Voters are revolting against high energy prices across the country, and Republicans are taking most of the blame as the party in power in Washington. But an under-reported story is that Democrats are on defense in the Northeast, where utility bills have spiked because of green energy mandates and progressive hostility to fossil fuels. It’s about time.

Electricity and heating bills have shot up more in the Northeast than elsewhere. Over the last six years, residential electric rates have climbed by about 20% to 30% in most states, yet far more in Maine (92%), New York (59%), Rhode Island (45%) and Massachusetts (43%). Some households are paying hundreds of dollars more a month than they did a few years ago.

Heating bills are also expected to surge this winter because of the Northeast’s reliance on oil. The Energy Information Administration recently estimated that winter energy bills will increase 21% this year for households that use heating oil.

Roughly half of households in Maine rely on heating oil, as do a quarter in Rhode Island, 20% in Massachusetts and 15% in New York. That’s because Democrats across the region have worked to block projects that would increase the use of natural gas. The result: More households are at the mercy of global oil markets.

Democrats blame rising energy bills on the Iran war, but residents would enjoy much lower utility bills if not for Democratic opposition to natural gas. Northeasterners who heat with gas will pay $1,236 less on average this winter than those who use oil, according to the EIA.

This explains Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s recent energy reversal. As state Attorney General in 2022, she boasted of blocking two natural gas pipelines. In 2024 she declared that “getting to net zero by 2050 is not just our legislative mandate in Massachusetts. It’s a social and economic imperative that informs everything we do.”

So much for that. This month she insisted that the Trump Administration accelerate permitting for a gas pipeline expansion. She also announced plans to waive $100 million in electric bill charges that fund green energy programs, at least for this winter.

Ms. Healey is no St. Maura on the road to Dover. She is responding to her GOP opponent, Mike Minogue, who has focused on how climate policies have driven up energy costs, with statemandated charges accounting for a third of utility bills. He has promised to eliminate this “mandatory climate tax” and build natural gas pipelines to reduce energy prices.

Most polls show Mr. Minogue, an Army veteran and former CEO of the medical device company Abiomed, trailing by double digits. But Ms. Healey’s energy feint suggests she’s worried. Maybe she’s noticed how high energy costs have become a liability for Democrats next door in Rhode Island.

A Republican hasn’t won statewide office in Rhode Island since 2006, but a recent Emerson College/WPRI-TV 12 News poll shows Democrat Helena Foulkes (44% support) in a fight with independent Ken Block (35%) and Republican Aaron Guckian (10%). The GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, John Loughlin, leads Democratic incumbent Sabina Matos by a point.

Mr. Block has gained traction by attacking Democrats for raising taxes and energy costs. He has called for postponing the state’s 100% renewable electric mandate and slashing taxes and fees on utility bills. A recent report found that utility disconnections in the state have doubled with more customers falling behind on their skyrocketing bills.

Meantime, Gov. Kathy Hochul has tried to head off a backlash over New York’s soaring electric bills by delaying her state’s CO2 emissions mandates. She also approved a permit for a new pipeline to bring more gas from Pennsylvania to New York. Her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, rejected the permit.

Last month she announced $200 “energy rebates” for joint tax filers making up to $150,000 a year. That’s cold comfort. Electric bills over the last year have risen three times as much as the rebates are expected to cost the state. How about green-lighting fracking upstate and eliminating state charges on energy bills, as her GOP opponent Bruce Blakeman has proposed?

Rising utility bills are also giving a boost to Maine Sen. Susan Collins. She has hammered her opponent Troy Jackson, who led the state Senate from 2018 to 2024, for voting to expand the state’s net-metering program, which subsidizes customers with solar panels. Net-metering adds on average $30 a month to customer bills in Maine. Asked about his vote in a recent debate, Mr. Jackson acknowledged “it did cost more than it should have.”

Democrats in the Northeast may survive in November thanks to Donald Trump’s unpopularity. But they would be wise to reject the climate dogmatism that is hurting voters in their states. Alas, they probably won’t once the election is over.