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Some States Enjoy Lower Costs                     already limited natural gas availability is sought for
                                                               both space heating and electricity generation. This
             There were some bright spots in states that have   growing imbalance between supply and demand
             seen a reduction in average cost:                 drives up consumer costs.
             • North Dakota : 5.55% decrease over 3 years,     By the numbers: Natural gas prices in cities like
             11.89% over 5 years                               Boston and New York are 160% higher than the
             • Nebraska : 0.22% decrease over 5 years          national average during peak months.
             • Louisiana : 1.59% decrease over 3 years
             • New Mexico : 5.49% decrease over 3 years        Did you know? 55% of New England’s electricity
                                                               last year came from natural gas. A study
             In addition to these four states, others such as   released this year by S&P Global sponsored
             Utah, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Iowa, Idaho, and         by the Chamber showed that expanding gas
             Arkansas enjoy the nation’s lowest prices, all    pipeline capacity into New York and New England
             landing under 10¢/kWh.                            would reduce consumers’ natural gas prices by
                                                               27% and 17% respectively, with even greater
             Prolonged Price Stability in Energy               savings gained during winter. Lower gas prices =
                                                               lower costs for electricity.
             Producing States
                                                               Our take: “Residents in New York and New
             Looking back 昀椀ve years, some states have held    England are paying the highest energy prices in
             their longer-term price trends well below the     the country due to the choices of elected of昀椀cials
             nation’s overall average increase during that     to stop the kind of pipeline projects that exist
             period. New Mexico, Iowa, Alaska, and Utah have   almost everywhere else in the country,” said Marty
             shown remarkable stability in electricity prices,   Durbin, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Global
             all holding 5-year increases under 9%. Each       Energy Institute.
             of these states rank within the top 20 energy
             producing states, helping to insulate them from   “If built,” Durbin added, “businesses and families
             the scarcity that can result from rising demand.   would see immediate and lasting price relief instead
             This consistency is a positive sign for consumers in   of escalating prices that will only get worse.”
             these states, providing a buffer against the broader
             trend of rising costs.                            The bottom line: Addressing these pipeline
                                                               bottlenecks – through improved permitting processes
             Northeast and California Face Elevated Rates      at both the state and federal levels – is crucial for
             Electricity prices are highest in Hawaii, California,   bringing more low-cost resources to consumers.
             Alaska, New York, and across New England, with
             rates in each exceeding 18¢/kWh. California is    Our Recommendations 
             closing in on the 30¢/kWh threshold, a dubious
             placement considering that only Hawaii comes in
             with higher electricity rates.                    As U.S. power demand is set to soar, maintaining a
                                                               reliable and affordable electricity supply is truly an
                                                               “all hands-on deck” exercise.
             Longer term trends for California, New York, and
             most New England states also illustrate signi昀椀cant
             electricity price increases. Over the past 昀椀ve   Permit America to Build: Modernizing broken
             years, California experienced a meteoric 58.45%   permitting processes and a sensible timeline for
             increase, New York went up 36.62%, and New        legal challenges to projects could accelerate the
                                                               construction of new renewable, natural gas, and
             England residents saw anything from 20% to nearly   nuclear generation resources, while also unleashing
             40% increases in their electricity bills. Combined
             with state policies that put upward pressure on   the construction of the linear pipeline and transmission
             energy prices, these increases are enhanced by    infrastructure necessary for their operation.
                                                               Meanwhile, existing generation resources must not be
             a con昀氀uence of increasing energy demand and
             arti昀椀cially tightened energy supplies, often driven   prematurely shuttered due to unrealistic regulatory
             by infrastructure pressures.                      standards or aspirational state goals that primarily
                                                               serve to reduce our energy options.
             Northeast Prices Soar Due to                      Looking ahead: While increasing electricity
             Limited Infrastructure                            prices have generally been the rule as of late, a
                                                               coordinated effort to support new infrastructure
             State policies that constrain the supply of natural   while also respecting the contributions of what
             gas to New York and New England continue to       powers today’s grid can help moderate the
             force electricity prices higher. Moreover, the    imbalance of supply and demand while tempering
             ongoing electri昀椀cation of heating systems is     the prices we pay for the electricity essential to
             shifting peak electricity demand to winter, when   power our lives.



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