To the editor:
From 2014 to 2016, residents of Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut successfully blocked construction of the Kinder Morgan/NED and Constitution pipelines due to their environmental destruction capabilities and irresponsible use of eminent domain. Residents of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and New York defeated the Constitution pipeline in 2016, a decision supported by the courts in 2020.
In January 2025, Donald Trump and his secretary of energy called for the resurrection of the Constitution pipeline, citing three falsehoods as the rationale:
- All Northeast governors want the pipeline;
- It would be built in less than a year; and
- It would significantly lower energy costs in New England and New York.
As usual, the facts contradict these official statements:
- Only the Connecticut governor has mentioned support for adding pipelines. No other governors of impacted states have changed their position regarding the pipeline’s destructive nature. In fact, building new pipelines contradicts official policy for many of the states—in particular for Massachusetts where new pipeline construction violates state law.
- Unless the permitting process is completely ignored, there is no way that the pipeline could be built in less than one year.
- Most significantly, building billion-dollar pipelines never reduces gas costs for consumers as ratepayers inevitably pay the bill for construction of pipelines often used to deliver gas for export.
A recent Acadia Center article noted:
Since 2018, existing gas customers have footed the bill for 80% of all new gas … connections. And these subsidies … are driving up gas bills for everyone. In 2023 alone, Massachusetts gas customers were charged $160 million to add new customers … to the tune of $9,000 per new customer, which is reflected on ratepayer gas bills.
Rather than call for investing in pipeline construction, Trump should rescind his decision to halt offshore wind development that would mitigate winter price spikes and deliver much-needed energy in winters to come. His administration should also promote energy efficiency programs like Mass Save that prevent consumers from the need for additional purchase of fossil fuels at such costly rates.
Yes, we have had a very cold winter—and yes, energy prices have been hard to handle. The solution for this challenging situation is not to be found in the false promise of new pipeline construction but in the real savings provided by realizing alternative energy options. We need to double down on adopting clean energy solutions if we care about reducing our energy costs.
Michele Marantz
Dalton
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