Across America, blue-state leaders are making big promises on clean energy while ignoring the harsh reality — their policies are driving up costs and jeopardizing reliability.
Ambitious mandates to cut emissions are being paired with regulatory roadblocks that cripple the very infrastructure needed to meet these goals. The result is a looming energy crisis that will hit working families and small businesses hardest — and ironically fail to reduce emissions in the process.
A recent report from the Progressive Policy Institute lays bare the truth: The lack of adequate infrastructure disproportionately burdens lower-income communities, who are “forced to spend higher shares of their smaller incomes on energy compared to wealthier and better-connected neighborhoods around them.”
As energy demand soars — fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence, electric vehicles and heating electrification — our aging grid is dangerously unprepared. The bill for years of political posturing over practical planning is finally coming due.
With inflation and tariffs already squeezing household budgets, families can’t afford to pay more. But without urgent action, skyrocketing utility bills are exactly what they will get. This crisis threatens not only everyday quality of life, but also the economic foundation for businesses that depend on affordable, reliable power.
I have faced crises before. As Maryland’s governor, I led through a global pandemic, civil unrest and economic turbulence. One thing I learned: When leaders level with the public and speak hard truths, people respond. But instead of facing this challenge head-on, many elected officials are dodging responsibility, playing a blame game, and doubling down on policies that simply don’t add up.
During my tenure in Maryland, we pushed to expand nuclear power and preserve critical energy infrastructure, only to be blocked by a legislature that failed to prioritize energy security. Today, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) is pushing to ban gas heating and gas-powered vehicles — measures that would require a doubling of the size of our power grid, but without a viable way to build it. Meanwhile, the state just passed massive tax hikes, and utility rates are climbing fast.
This isn’t just a Maryland problem. In New York, politicians have tried to phase out natural gas without providing for a serious alternative. The result? Energy bills in the Empire State are up $154 a month from just five years ago. And instead of confronting the consequences, leaders are scapegoating utility companies.
In Massachusetts, long a progressive energy trailblazer, Gov. Maura Healy (D) recently signed legislation to further phase out existing infrastructure — again with no reliable plan to replace it. As rates spike, the state is offering residents a one-time $50 credit. That’s just a Band-Aid, not a long-term solution.
I support the goal of reducing emissions and protecting our climate. But climate ambition without energy realism is a recipe for failure. We need honest conversations about the trade-offs, and we need practical plans that invest in real infrastructure — not just lofty mandates.
One leader who is providing an example of this approach is Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D). In his latest state of the state address, he laid out an “all-of-the-above” strategy, acknowledging the basic truth that “we will need more electricity to meet the increased demand.” He resisted calls to abandon natural gas, recognizing that it remains a major power source “for the foreseeable future,” and he committed to expanding nuclear capacity.
To get the job done, Lamont has also taken a pragmatic approach toward the Trump administration: “The president and I will never agree about wind power and solar power, nor will we agree about coal and even oil, but perhaps in the area of natural gas and nuclear there are some ways that we can work together to potentially bring down dramatically the prices of electricity in our state and region.”
With elections on the horizon in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Connecticut, energy policy is no longer a back-burner issue — it’s front and center. In 2014, I pulled off the biggest election upset in America. I won in deep-blue Maryland because voters were tired of being crushed by taxes and out-of-touch leadership.
Today’s energy crisis is just as potentially politically explosive. If elected officials continue to ignore reality, the fallout will be seismic.
The path forward is clear: honesty, pragmatism and real investment in infrastructure. The era of energy fantasy must end before working Americans are left to pay the price.
Larry Hogan (R) was as governor of Maryland from 2015 to 2023.