选民们正因全国能源价格高涨而发起反抗，而作为华盛顿执政党的共和党人正承担着大部分责任。但一个鲜有报道的事实是，民主党人在东北部正处于守势，因为该地区的能源账单因绿色能源强制令以及对化石燃料的进步派敌意而飙升。是时候了。
Voters are revolting against high energy prices across the country, and Republicans are taking most of the blame as the party in power in Washington. But an under-reported story is that Democrats are on defense in the Northeast, where utility bills have spiked because of green energy mandates and progressive hostility to fossil fuels. It’s about time.
东北部的电力和供暖账单涨幅高于其他地区。过去六年里，大多数州的居民电价上涨了约20%至30%，但缅因州涨幅达92%，纽约州为59%，罗得岛州为45%，马萨诸塞州为43%。一些家庭每月需要比几年前多支付数百美元。
Electricity and heating bills have shot up more in the Northeast than elsewhere. Over the last six years, residential electric rates have climbed by about 20% to 30% in most states, yet far more in Maine (92%), New York (59%), Rhode Island (45%) and Massachusetts (43%). Some households are paying hundreds of dollars more a month than they did a few years ago.
由于东北部依赖燃油取暖，今冬供暖账单也预计将激增。能源信息管理局最近估计，使用燃油取暖的家庭今年冬季能源账单将增加21%。
Heating bills are also expected to surge this winter because of the Northeast’s reliance on oil. The Energy Information Administration recently estimated that winter energy bills will increase 21% this year for households that use heating oil.
[音频] 特朗普与俄罗斯结盟的步伐日益接近。缅因州约有一半家庭依赖燃油取暖，罗得岛州为四分之一，马萨诸塞州为20%，纽约州为15%。这是因为该地区的民主党人一直在阻碍那些能增加天然气使用量的项目。结果：更多家庭正陷入全球油价波动的困境。
[audio] Donald Trump Moves Closer to an Alliance With Russia Roughly half of households in Maine rely on heating oil, as do a quarter in Rhode Island, 20% in Massachusetts and 15% in New York. That’s because Democrats across the region have worked to block projects that would increase the use of natural gas. The result: More households are at the mercy of global oil markets.
民主党人将能源账单上涨归咎于伊朗战争，但如果不是民主党人反对天然气，居民本可以享受更低的能源账单。根据能源信息管理局的数据，使用天然气取暖的东北部居民今冬平均可比使用燃油取暖的居民少花1236美元。
Democrats blame rising energy bills on the Iran war, but residents would enjoy much lower utility bills if not for Democratic opposition to natural gas. Northeasterners who heat with gas will pay $1,236 less on average this winter than those who use oil, according to the EIA.
这解释了马萨诸塞州州长莫拉·希利近期的能源政策转向。2022年担任州总检察长时，她曾夸口阻止了两条天然气管道。2024年，她宣称“到2050年实现净零排放不仅是马萨诸塞州的立法任务，更是影响我们所做一切的社会和经济必要条件”。如今，这些话已不再提。本月，她坚持要求特朗普政府加快一条天然气管道扩建项目的审批。她还宣布计划，至少在这个冬天，免除1亿美元用于资助绿色能源项目的电费附加费。
This explains Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey’s recent energy reversal. As state Attorney General in 2022, she boasted of blocking two natural gas pipelines. In 2024 she declared that “getting to net zero by 2050 is not just our legislative mandate in Massachusetts. It’s a social and economic imperative that informs everything we do.”So much for that. This month she insisted that the Trump Administration accelerate permitting for a gas pipeline expansion. She also announced plans to waive $100 million in electric bill charges that fund green energy programs, at least for this winter.
希利并非前往多佛路上的圣徒。她是在回应共和党对手迈克·米诺格，后者一直聚焦于气候政策如何推高能源成本，州政府强制收取的费用占公用事业账单的三分之一。他承诺取消这项“强制性气候税”，并修建天然气管道以降低能源价格。
Ms. Healey is no St. Maura on the road to Dover. She is responding to her GOP opponent, Mike Minogue, who has focused on how climate policies have driven up energy costs, with state-mandated charges accounting for a third of utility bills. He has promised to eliminate this “mandatory climate tax” and build natural gas pipelines to reduce energy prices.
大多数民调显示，米诺格——一名陆军退伍军人，曾任医疗器械公司Abiomed的首席执行官——落后两位数。但希利的能源政策转向表明她感到担忧。也许她注意到，高昂的能源成本已成为邻近罗德岛州民主党人的负担。
Most polls show Mr. Minogue, an Army veteran and former CEO of the medical device company Abiomed, trailing by double digits. But Ms. Healey’s energy feint suggests she’s worried. Maybe she’s noticed how high energy costs have become a liability for Democrats next door in Rhode Island.
自2006年以来，罗德岛州尚有共和党人赢得州级公职，但最近一项埃默森学院/WPRI-TV 12新闻民调显示，民主党人海伦娜·福尔克斯（44%支持率）正与独立候选人肯·布洛克（35%）和共和党人亚伦·古基安（10%）展开激烈竞争。共和党副州长候选人约翰·洛克林以微弱优势领先现任民主党副州长萨比娜·马托斯。
A Republican hasn’t won statewide office in Rhode Island since 2006, but a recent Emerson College/WPRI-TV 12 News poll shows Democrat Helena Foulkes (44% support) in a fight with independent Ken Block (35%) and Republican Aaron Guckian (10%). The GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, John Loughlin, leads Democratic incumbent Sabina Matos by a point.
肯·布洛克通过抨击民主党提高税收和能源成本而获得支持。他主张推迟该州100%可再生能源电力强制令，并削减公用事业账单上的税费。最近的一份报告发现，该州的公用事业停供服务数量已翻倍，越来越多的客户因账单飞涨而拖欠付款。
Mr. Block has gained traction by attacking Democrats for raising taxes and energy costs. He has called for postponing the state’s 100% renewable electric mandate and slashing taxes and fees on utility bills. A recent report found that utility disconnections in the state have doubled with more customers falling behind on their skyrocketing bills.
与此同时，纽约州州长凯西·霍楚尔试图通过推迟该州的二氧化碳排放强制规定来避免因纽约州电费飙升而引发的反弹。她还批准了一项新管道的许可证，以将更多来自宾夕法尼亚州的天然气输送到纽约州。她的前任安德鲁·库莫曾拒绝该许可证。
Meantime, Gov. Kathy Hochul has tried to head off a backlash over New York’s soaring electric bills by delaying her state’s CO2 emissions mandates. She also approved a permit for a new pipeline to bring more gas from Pennsylvania to New York. Her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, rejected the permit.
上个月，她宣布为年收入不超过15万美元的联合报税者提供200美元的“能源回扣”。这不过是杯水车薪。过去一年，电费上涨的幅度是该回扣预计给州政府带来成本的三倍。是否应该像她的共和党对手布鲁斯·布拉克曼所提议的那样，批准上州进行水力压裂并取消能源账单上的州级费用？
Last month she announced $200 “energy rebates” for joint tax filers making up to $150,000 a year. That’s cold comfort. Electric bills over the last year have risen three times as much as the rebates are expected to cost the state. How about green-lighting fracking upstate and eliminating state charges on energy bills, as her GOP opponent Bruce Blakeman has proposed?
公用事业账单的上涨也正在帮助缅因州参议员苏珊·柯林斯。她一直在抨击她的对手特罗伊·杰克逊，这位曾在2018年至2024年领导缅因州参议院的人，因投票支持扩大该州的净计量项目而受到指责，该项目为安装太阳能电池板的客户提供补贴。净计量平均每月会使缅因州客户的账单增加约30美元。在最近的一场辩论中被问及他的投票时，杰克逊承认“这确实花费了本应更少的钱。”
Rising utility bills are also giving a boost to Maine Sen. Susan Collins. She has hammered her opponent Troy Jackson, who led the state Senate from 2018 to 2024, for voting to expand the state’s net-metering program, which subsidizes customers with solar panels. Net-metering adds on average $30 a month to customer bills in Maine. Asked about his vote in a recent debate, Mr. Jackson acknowledged “it did cost more than it should have.”
东北部的民主党人或许能在11月幸存下来，多亏了唐纳德·特朗普的不受欢迎。但他们最好拒绝正在伤害其州选民的气候教条主义。可惜的是，他们大概在选举结束后不会这样做。
Democrats in the Northeast may survive in November thanks to Donald Trump’s unpopularity. But they would be wise to reject the climate dogmatism that is hurting voters in their states. Alas, they probably won’t once the election is over.