Every month, mothers in Southeast Washington, DC, as well as other mothers from across the nation, open their electric bill. They do the math they have done a hundred times before: What gets paid, and what gets pushed to next month.
Throughout this country, in underserved Black, Brown, and White communities from Anacostia to Newark, to Raleigh-Durham, to Detroit, St. Louis, and to Los Angeles, electricity costs are quietly becoming one of the most regressive taxes in America. And now is the time for the leaders who are best positioned to exercise carpe diem “seize the day.”
That is why I have to say, as a lifelong Democrat and someone who has spent decades fighting for economic justice in underserved communities: our party must rethink and put forward bold proposals that build the energy infrastructure this country needs. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently voted, unanimously and on a bipartisan basis, to help address the rising electricity cost crisis.
FERC’s reform would modernize its “blanket certificate” program, a permitting shortcut that lets natural gas projects under a defined limit move forward without the yearslong case-by-case review required for major pipelines. The cost caps that define what counts as a blanket certificate project have not been updated since 2006.
Construction costs have risen dramatically since then. FERC’s fix simply brings those caps in line with today’s costs, so routine upgrades like compressor station expansions and storage improvements do not get stuck in the same slow lane as massive new pipelines. This is basic maintenance of a regulatory system that stopped making sense.
Notably, it was not just Republican commissioners who signed off. Climate-focused commissioners like former undersecretary of energy and climate solutions for Massachusetts Judy Chang, nominated by President Biden, voted for it too because she understands that getting more supply online, safely and efficiently, is part of how you keep prices in check for working families.
Unfortunately, a group of Democratic attorneys general, led by Washington and Massachusetts, has filed comments opposing this reform. I understand their rationale and where they are coming from. Nobody wants to see corners cut on environmental review. I am also a lifelong advocate for environmental justice. I take environmental matters seriously because pollution and infrastructure burdens have been borne disproportionately by underserved communities.
In this case a comprehensive look at the actual record is warranted. The reform keeps full environmental review in place for any major project. It only speeds up the routine work. And look at the results in the very states raising the alarm. Since 2020, residential electricity prices have risen 73.7 percent in Washington, D.C., 65.3 percent in Maine, 59.1percent in California, 49.7 percent in Maryland, and 43.7 percent in New York.
These are almost entirely blue states, many of them home to the same officials now advocating, rightfully so, for faster infrastructure build-out. Meanwhile, Michigan, a swing state carrying real weight for working-class and Black families, has seen a painful 23.1 percent increase in electrical power costs.
President Donald Trump’s economic record has been a disaster for working families, from tariffs that raised costs on everyday goods to policies that have done nothing to bring down the price of energy, housing, or groceries. Democrats have a real opening to be the party that delivers affordability, not just the party that promises it.
That means supporting a comprehensive and bold energy strategy- gas, renewables, nuclear, and offshore wind- that gets supply moving to meet rising demand instead of an older model during a pre-technology era where being cautious against anything with the word “gas” in it had some merit.
I respect and appreciate the attorneys general raising these concerns. Debating is healthy. So, I hope they will be open to debate and look again at what this reform does. Underserved communities cannot afford another decade of good intentions and rising bills. Our leaders from these communities must continue the fight for lower prices with the same energy we bring to fighting for justice. Working families have the same fight to improve the quality of life for all.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr, is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and is Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles (TCC) on PBS TV network across the nation, and can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org
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