2026-10-25 · contested story
As energy costs soar, Healey has embraced an ‘all-of-the-above’ approach — alien...
As energy costs soar across the U.S. ahead of the November 2026 midterms, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey has publicly pivoted from the 'most aggressive governor in the country on climate' to embracing an 'all-of-the-above' energy strategy, including backing a $300 million Algonquin natural gas pipeline expansion she once would have opposed and redirecting clean-energy funds to cut ratepayer bills. The Boston Globe captured the tension vividly, noting that on a single October morning Healey 'gushed about the virtues of a clean energy project' before her office sent a press release titled 'Governor Healey Calls on Trump Administration to Expedite Review of Gas Pipeline Expansion.' This mirrors a broader regional trend of blue-state Democratic governors (Hochul, Lamont, Shapiro, Sherrill) softening climate mandates amid an affordability crisis driven by natural gas prices, data-center demand, inflation, and the war with Iran.
How each side frames it
left
"The dueling messages underscore how the first-term governor has distanced herself from an uncompromising environmental warrior of four years ago"
"Some Democratic governors are abandoning climate policy in favor of affordability. But that's a false choice."
"cost savings from the new pipelines Healey and Hochul are advertising are somewhere between long-term and entirely fictional"
"many establishment Democrats have now not only abandoned bread-and-butter working-class issues, they're also busy jettisoning some of the hard-won core principles of the environmental movement"
"There has been a much more renewed focus on energy affordability, and ... I have seen climate become a bit of a reduced priority"
center
"Demand for electricity has increased in recent years, partly because of all of the new data centers that are popping up to serve the artificial intelligence boom."
"However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors."
"The rebate would range between $100 and $200, based on household income and would not be available to high incomes."
"The political divide on nuclear power is smaller than on other energy issues, with 54% of Republicans and 38% of Democrats saying the federal government should encourage the production of nuclear power"
"Our electric bill is literally more than our rent this month"
right
"Democratic Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey's recent declaration of an 'energy emergency,' issued less than a month before Election Day, is less a genuine response to crisis than a familiar and cynical political maneuver."
"For years, state policy — often led by Healey herself — has constrained natural gas infrastructure, opposed new pipelines, and layered renewable mandates and surcharges onto ratepayers in a cold-climate state."
"That's not reform. That's a confession."
"It said high electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice."
"Democrat party energy policy in blue states has long rested on the idea that elevating the price of energy reduces use and thereby cuts emissions."
What each side left out
The left left out — covered by the City Journal & Bizpac Review
- That Massachusetts' renewable mandates, RGGI carbon allowances, and surcharges are a documented driver of the nation's highest rates
- That Healey as AG cited a 2015 study later disputed to block pipelines
The left left out — covered by the The Boston Globe
- That the court rejected making electricity customers pay for pipelines, which complicates the simple 'Healey blocked pipelines and raised prices' narrative
The right left out — covered by the Common Dreams & Vox & NPR
- That renewables added 34x more capacity than fossil fuels/nuclear over 18 months and are the cheapest new generation
- That Trump's wind cancellations and tax-credit repeals are themselves raising costs
The right left out — covered by the NPR & Newsday & Vox
- That data-center/AI demand and the Iran war are major non-policy drivers of price spikes acknowledged across the spectrum
The center left out — covered by the The Boston Globe & Boston Herald & The New Republic
- Deep engagement with the specific Massachusetts/Healey pivot story — Center sources focused on NY, national think-tank modeling, and consumer anecdotes rather than Healey's ideological reversal
The center left out — covered by the Boston Herald & Bizpac Review
- The partisan 'cynical election ploy' framing of the energy emergency
What's actually true?
[verified] Massachusetts' electricity costs increased by more than 20 percent over the last three years, to nearly double the US average, per the US Chamber of Commerce (2025).
[verified] Healey backed a $300 million Algonquin gas pipeline expansion and urged the Trump administration to expedite its review, after having opposed pipelines as AG.
[verified] Healey declared an 'energy emergency' and used alternative compliance payment funds to reimburse consumers, estimating at least $129 million in heating bill reductions.
[verified] Last year more than half of New England's energy came from natural gas, followed by nuclear, with renewables about 13 percent of the state's usage.
[verified] Healey signed an executive order in March 2026 targeting 10 gigawatts of new energy resources and 5 gigawatts of storage by 2035 using an all-of-the-above mix (solar, wind, gas, nuclear, hydro, geothermal).
[verified] Over the past 18 months (Feb 2025-Jul 2026) solar, wind and battery storage added nearly 89 gigawatts of capacity, more than 30 times the growth of fossil fuels and nuclear combined.
[contested] Federal policy changes since January 2025 will increase household energy costs by an average of $6,500 cumulatively through 2040, per Energy Innovation modeling.
[verified] Residential electricity rates have risen more than 30 percent on average since 2020, nearly double the rate of inflation in the past year.
The narrative clash
Whether Massachusetts climate mandates are the root cause of high energy prices
Left: the Hochul administration is trying to sell this as an affordability issue, that somehow the state's climate law is responsible for high utility bills. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Right: For years, state policy — often led by Healey herself — has constrained natural gas infrastructure, opposed new pipelines, and layered renewable mandates and surcharges onto ratepayers
Whether the affordability/climate tradeoff is real
Left: There's little excuse at this point for politicians accepting and perpetuating myths about a trade-off between climate policy and affordability.
Right: High-cost, low-reliability energy is a toxic combination for industries.
Whether renewables raise or lower costs
Left: Wind and solar are among the cheapest sources of new electricity in much of the country, according to data from the EIA
Right: adding new renewables—especially in remote areas—imposes additional interconnection and transmission costs, which states expect utilities to absorb and then 'recover' through rate cases
Whether Healey's messaging has actually changed
Left: Healey, for her part, says she doesn't see her messaging as any different from before, saying 'it's one and the same'
Right: An incumbent copying a challenger, by flip flopping on her own stances, is a sign of desperation.
55 sources analyzed
The Boston Globe NPR Newsday Boston Herald Bizpac Review Mother Jones NPR Newsday Boston Herald City Journal Vox NPR Newsday Investor's Business Daily The Federalist The New Republic NPR Newsday Reason City Journal Vox Houston Chronicle Boston Herald The Federalist Common Dreams Chicago Tribune Boston Herald City Journal Common Dreams New York Post The Federalist Mother Jones Investor's Business Daily City Journal The New Republic New York Post The Federalist Mother Jones New York Post Common Dreams Reason Salon Reason Vox Investor's Business Daily The New Republic New York Post Common Dreams Reason Mother Jones Investor's Business Daily Salon Salon The New Republic Salon