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Anya Fetcher is the federal policy advocate at the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
Energy affordability is a major issue for families and small businesses in Maine, and it’s not getting better. Starting Jan. 1, most Mainers will see their electricity bills jump by $11 to $16 per month. Why? Because New England’s power prices are still yoked to natural gas prices.
The single largest contributor to high energy costs in Maine is our state’s dependence on fossil fuels we have to buy from far away. To break this cycle, we need to build more clean energy in Maine. Homegrown clean energy is the best opportunity we have to bring more affordable, reliable energy to Maine people quickly.
Unfortunately, Washington, D.C., is slowing us down.
Since day one, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have worked hard to keep us hooked on fossil fuels while stifling the growth of lower-cost clean energy sources. These actions taken together might be good for fossil fuel companies, but they don’t do anything to lower energy costs for Mainers, make us less dependent on out-of-state oil and gas supplies, or help us tackle climate change.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which repealed almost all the clean energy policies passed in the Inflation Reduction Act, will lead to higher energy costs for Maine households. Slashing these investments translates into electricity price increases by slowing clean energy adoption and keeping us dependent longer on natural gas power generation. One report earlier this year found that repealing the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits would raise rates in New England by 17%.
The federal government under the Trump administration has pushed to slow, stop or cancel clean energy projects that help stabilize electricity costs across New England — even ones already under construction. For example, the stop-work order issued to Revolution Wind, threatens $500 million in wholesale electricity market savings every year.
Arbitrary tariffs raise the cost of just about everything. That includes the installation of renewable energy systems, and equipment used to maintain and upgrade Maine’s electricity grid. Depending on their implementation, it also threatens to increase the costs of fuel for transportation, heating and power generation, many of which come to Maine from refineries in Canada or overseas. An analysis this summer found that a 10% tariff that included fuels would increase the energy costs in an average Maine household by $419 per year. A 25% tariff could raise household energy expenses by more than $1,000 per year.
Electricity supply costs in Maine are driven by the cost of natural gas power generation on the New England grid, and we will continue to be exposed to these fossil fuel price risks for as long as we are dependent on these sources of energy. The Trump administration’s policies to increase U.S. liquefied natural gas exports are contributing to higher natural gas prices and forecasts, part of the supply rate increases starting in January.
The best path to energy affordability is Maine-made clean energy. The good news is that Maine has a strong foundation of clean energy policies to build on, with healthy rooftop and community solar development, and initiatives to develop our strong wind resources in Aroostook County and offshore in the Gulf of Maine. And Mainers are already benefiting, through a clean energy industry that already employs more than 15,000 Mainers.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress aren’t doing anything to help us get to a cleaner, more affordable, more reliable energy system for Maine. In fact, their path is going to make energy more expensive for Mainers.
