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But don’t just take our word for it. According to an October report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, “forecasts predict continued growth in net exports, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity, will put additional pressure on natural gas prices this winter.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on this same trend a year ago, noting that “natural gas exports push domestic prices higher. […] Utilities from the Pacific Northwest to New England have filed with regulators to raise natural gas rates this winter, citing a reduction in supply as a result of higher global demand. And US natural gas prices have risen even more since then.
These high prices are causing significant economic hardship for tens of millions of American families. The National Association of Energy Assistance Directors estimated in September that household heating costs this winter would be 34% higher than last winter for families with gas heating and 7% higher for those who rely on electricity, most of which is produced from gas. Lower income households will suffer the most; 26% of respondents in a US Census Bureau survey conducted in the summer in 2022 they said they had given up necessities like food or medicine to pay their energy bills at least once in the previous year. The fact that some Americans own gas company stock is cold comfort to the far greater number of struggling families who do not.
The solution is for Biden DOE to undertake rulemaking to assess actual impacts LNG export to all Americans. This should include an analysis of how higher home heating costs affect households at different income levels. It should also examine how exports affect gas supplies and prices in different geographic areas of the country, such as New England, which experts warn could face gas shortages this winter. A comprehensive assessment should also consider the likely effects of proposed LNG export facilities on nearby areas, which are primarily communities of color, given that such facilities are both hazardous and polluting. Such an analysis could help the Biden administration fulfill its commitment to environmental justice.
The Natural Gas Act calls for careful consideration by the federal government LNG exports and curb them if they harm Americans. The US Supreme Court found that “primary objective” of the law “was to protect consumers from exploitation at the hands of natural gas companies.”
The exploitation of the gas companies is now obvious — and not only of Americans, but of Europeans as well. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has cut off gas supplies to Europe. But while the U.S. gas industry likes to portray itself as coming to the aid of our European allies by increasing exports to the continent, some of those allies accuse the U.S. gas industry of price gouging.
In the US and around the world, the ultimate solution is to end reliance on natural gas, a volatile commodity, and switch to electrified heating systems powered by renewable energy. But that can’t happen overnight, so in the meantime, the U.S. should reduce gas exports abroad to help keep heating affordable for Americans.
The Biden administration should also halt the construction of new LNG export facilities because it is clearly at odds with the nation’s climate goals, which the president recently said at a UN climate conference in Egypt. If the US continues to grow exports LNGby 2030 industry could produce as many greenhouse gas emissions each year by 45 million gasoline cars. Simply put, the US will fail to meet its commitments to reduce climate pollution if it continues to build natural gas infrastructure and increase LNG of exports.
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