To the editor:
In Massachusetts, the sting of winter no longer comes solely from the cold — it’s in the mailbox, where electric bills soar to $351 and gas bills hit $260 monthly. Residents of Lynn, a city of grit and resilience, know this pain too well. Energy prices, already among the nation’s highest at 30.73 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2024, have spiked further in 2025, outpacing inflation and squeezing household budgets. From Swampscott to Saugus, the question echoes: how did we get here? The answer lies squarely with Governor Maura Healey and her administration’s well-intentioned but disastrously executed policies — a tale of ideological zeal overtaking practical governance.
Centrism, at its core, seeks balance: progress without recklessness, sustainability without sacrifice. Healey, however, has veered hard into a green absolutism that’s left Massachusetts shivering in the dark. As Attorney General from 2015 to 2023, she waged a crusade against natural gas pipelines — celebrating the 2016 demise of the Northeast Energy Direct project, which promised 1.3 billion cubic feet of affordable gas daily. Her 2022 campaign doubled down, vowing “no new fossil fuel infrastructure” and 100% clean electricity by 2030. Noble goals, perhaps, but the reality is a supply chokehold. With pipelines stalled, the state imports 87% of America’s liquefied natural gas (LNG), paying $8-$15 per million British thermal units versus $2-$3 for domestic gas. When the Mystic Generating Station shuttered in 2024, slashing 1,413 megawatts of capacity, Healey’s fingerprints were on the scarcity that followed.
As governor, she’s piled on. Her 2025 budget swelled Mass Save and green programs by 25%, tacking $500 million annually onto utility bills via delivery fees — charges that doubled some Lynn residents’ costs to $685 monthly, per the *Washington Times*. Her 2024 Climate Law fast-tracked renewables but cemented the pipeline ban, leaving solar (3,500 MW) and wind (800 MW from Vineyard Wind) lagging far behind demand. The result? A 30% gas rate hike from Eversource and a 33.5% delivery charge surge since 2023, per WCVB. Healey’s $220 million Energy Affordability Agenda — $50 credits and a 5% winter discount — offers a flimsy Band-Aid, with utilities poised to claw back costs with interest. This isn’t leadership; it’s mismanagement masquerading as virtue.
The data is stark: Massachusetts pays $4,212 annually for electricity, 47% above the national $2,857, per electricityrates.com. Lynn’s working families, many earning near the state’s $51,000 median income, can’t weather this storm. Small businesses — cafes on Central Square, manufacturers off the Lynnway — face $1,000-plus monthly bills, threatening jobs. Healey’s defense, blaming global LNG prices or Trump’s proposed Canadian tariffs (a $200M hit, she warned on March 3), rings hollow. Other states face the same headwinds yet don’t see our rates. Her pipeline blocks and premature fossil fuel retreat created this vulnerability, not Moscow or Ottawa.
A centrist lens reveals the folly: Healey’s chased a utopia of wind turbines and solar panels while ignoring the bridge to get there. Renewables are vital — 34% of our power in 2023, per the EIA — but they’re intermittent, and offshore wind projects like Commonwealth Wind falter amid delays. Meanwhile, her push for heat pumps and EVs spikes demand on a grid still tethered to costly LNG and oil (15% of winter power, ISO New England notes). This isn’t balance; it’s a gamble with Lynn’s livelihoods.
Yet, blame alone solves nothing. A centrist path forward demands innovation, not ideology. First, Healey must reverse her blanket pipeline ban — not to entrench fossil fuels, but to buy time. A modest, temporary gas line — say, 500 million cubic feet daily — could slash LNG reliance by 2027, cutting bills 10-15% without derailing 2050 net-zero goals. Second, redirect her $6 billion green savings plan from vague promises to targeted relief: cap delivery fees at 30% of bills, fund it via state surplus ($8 billion in 2024), and mandate utilities absorb 20% of renewable transition costs. Third, launch a “Lynn Energy Co-op” — a state-backed, community-owned solar and storage network. For $50 million, 1,000 homes could share 10 MW of power, saving $500 each annually, per EnergySage models, while sidestepping corporate rate hikes.
Healey’s vision isn’t wrong — climate change demands action — but her execution is a masterclass in overreach. She’s turned a shared goal into a divisive crisis, pitting green ambition against kitchen-table survival. Lynn deserves better: a governor who bridges today’s needs with tomorrow’s promise, not one who burns the bridge and calls it progress. The *Daily Item* has chronicled this city’s tenacity; now, it’s time to demand accountability. Healey must pivot — or step aside — for a centrism that warms homes, not just headlines.
Ronald Beaty
West Barnstable, MA
