The headlines framed it as another Trump tariff story: Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatening a 25 percent retaliation on American energy exports. But the real story of the Northeastern energy crisis is more than cross-border drama and goes back well before the tariffs and trumpeting.
Ford's threat is the latest lash in a decades-long ritual of energy self-flagellation. U.S. regulators and lawmakers have been kneecapping American electricity production with regulation after regulation, smothering new projects in the name of preservation, wetlands, or the northeastern bulrush sedge—often before they even break ground. Instead of building up capacity, we import Canadian power to keep the emissions off our ledgers like mafia accountants, cleverly skirting the law while they convince the world they're making us cleaner, greener, and smarter, even as the lights flicker and the bills climb.
The people paying the price are not in press conferences or policy meetings. They're at home, choosing between groceries and the gas bill. I met them last winter in North Philly. I was there to run focus groups on the impact of rising energy costs.
