Are voters turning against energy mandates?
Elections never come down to one issue, but Eric DeGesero, the EVP for Fuel Merchants Association of New Jersey and lobbyist for New Jersey Motor Truck Association and New Jersey Propane Gas Association, said the recent elections showed voters may not have the appetite for energy mandates that some candidates feel they do.
“Last week, voters across the country sent a message that affordability and energy costs are a primary concern,” DeGesero said, laying out some examples.
“In Vermont, one of the bluest states in the nation, Republican Governor Phil Scott won re-election with nearly 70% of the vote and Democrats lost their veto-proof majorities. One of the notable losses in the Senate was Democratic Senator Chris Bray, Chairman of the Natural Resources & Energy Committee and sponsor of the Vermont Clean Heat Standard, an outrageously expensive building electrification mandate.
“Also losing his seat was Senator Mark MacDonald, a co-sponsor of the bill, who stated that anyone who was concerned about the cost of the clean heat standard should, ‘go get a blanket.’”
DeGesero said this way of thinking was not limited to the Northeast.
“In Washington State, there were four public referendums on the ballot,” he said. “The only one to pass with 51% of the vote was Initiative Measure No. 2066, which blocks the prohibition of using gas for heating or cooking.”
DeGesero noted that Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont announced post-election that he won’t pursue the electric vehicle sales mandate proposed for 2035. (DeGesero and others are working to get N.J. legislators to pull back from mandates it has passed.)
DeGesero said N.J. politicians would be wise to take notice of what happened in the Garden State.
“In New Jersey, where President Trump received over 10% more votes than he did in 2020 — the second-largest right swing of any state in the nation — legislative leaders should take economic concerns into consideration and pause Gov. Murphy’s expensive energy electrification mandates,” he said. “There’s even more of an urgency to do so, as today’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report reveals that electricity price inflation rose by 4.5 percent in October versus 3.7 percent in September, a 22 percent increase and 27% for the last 12 months.”
If they don’t, DeGesero has thoughts on that, too.
“Energy affordability is an issue that politicians ignore at their own peril,” he said.
