BOSTON, MA — Republican candidate for governor Brian Shortsleeve today blasted Governor Maura Healey’s latest energy announcement as an attempt to dodge responsibility for driving up Massachusetts energy prices:
“No one is more responsible than Maura Healey for Massachusetts’ outrageous energy costs.
“Today’s announcement is an admission that her policies have failed, and last week’s revelations that her former public utilities chief was auditioning for jobs with the climate industrial complex while he was supposed to be serving as a ratepayer watchdog proves this administration’s misplaced priorities. After bragging about killing two natural gas pipelines, supporting expensive state-mandated charges onto utility bills, and backing an energy agenda that put ideology ahead of affordability and reliability, she now wants to pass the buck. But only Maura Healey is to blame for the fact that Massachusetts suffers under the highest electricity rates in the continental United States.
“If Healey were serious about lowering costs, she would immediately cut the costly state-imposed add-ons driving up utility bills and abandon the failed one-sided policies that boxed Massachusetts into this mess. As governor, I’ll eliminate those fees, and pursue a true all-of-the-above energy strategy that includes natural gas, hydro, nuclear, and renewables, and I’ll remake the state’s net zero mandate into a goal so we can lower emissions without punishing working families and employers with sky-high energy bills.”