Billy Long: Nothing natural about natural gas prices

(From Seventh District Congressman Billy Long)

With warmer weather comes cheaper energy costs, right? You would think that is the case, since the need for natural gas and other energy sources is less in the summer, but it doesn’t always work out like that. 

In fact, the price of natural gas is one of just several commodities that is costing more money these days. You may not see the impact quite the same as you do with gasoline, but the effects of higher natural gas prices will be felt by most Americans.

Earlier this month, the price of natural gas hit a 14-year high, selling for more than $9 per MMBtu, and the month’s futures were at $7.8 per MMBtu and climbing. The last time natural gas was so expensive, we were in the middle of the Great Recession. 

To show you how high these prices are, during President Trump’s Administration, natural gas futures never went above $5 per MMBtu, and in April of last year, they were at $2.93 per MMBtu.

So what is causing this to happen? A large factor is not enough investment into the storage of natural gas. Production also plays a role. 

The amount of natural gas produced in the United States had been climbing exponentially, especially since President Trump came into office. When the pandemic hit, many of these drilling sites had to shut down. You would think that by now, production would be back on its exponential track, but you would be mistaken. 

President Biden has taken a series of actions that reduce the amount of oil and natural gas produced in the United States. Had he just left everything alone after coming into office, we wouldn’t be having the problems that we are having today.

The result of these higher prices for natural gas will inevitably lead to higher electricity prices. Yes, natural gas does more than just heat your home in the winter, it helps to power the electric grid as well. 

Of course, when the cost to produce a product increases, that cost will be passed along to the consumers. That’s Econ 101. 

This all shows yet another way that President Biden’s radical energy policies are hurting hard working taxpayers. 

When will the President realize that and take real action to relieve the burden Americans are facing? 

When will he reverse course from the Green New Deal priorities of his radical base, and start implementing policies that actually help Americans? 

If we are going to reduce the cost of energy, we need to stop attacking the American energy sector. I’m not optimistic that the President will do this, but it is the right thing to do.