The Trump administration’s abrupt order halting work on a nearly finished offshore wind project will drive up electric bills, threaten the reliability of New England’s power grid, and cost trade workers their jobs, according to regional energy officials and policymakers.
On Friday, the Republican administration halted work on Revolution Wind, an offshore wind project located about 32 miles southeast of Connecticut. According to the Associated Press, the project is already about 80% complete and was expected to be operational next year.
The decision is expected to have expensive consequences for Connecticut ratepayers. On Monday, ISO New England, the regional transmission organization which oversees New England’s electric power system, issued a statement, which said the order would have dire economic impacts, according to Daily Ructions.
“Unpredictable risks and threats to resources—regardless of technology—that have made significant capital investments, secured necessary permits, and are close to completion will stifle future investments, increase costs to consumers, and undermine the power grid’s reliability and the region’s economy now and in the future,” ISO New England said.
The abrupt stop to the project will impede ongoing efforts to make electricity more affordable in Connecticut. In June, the state’s Democratic-controled legislature passed the Ratepayers First Act, which has helped drive a 28% reduction in the public benefits charge on electricity bills.
However, since Friday, Democratic policymakers have warned that the Republican decision would have expensive repercussions for Connecticut families.
“Trump’s decision will crush blue-collar union jobs he pretends to care about and force Connecticut families to shoulder higher electric bills,” Senate President Martin Looney and Majority Leader Bob Duff said. “Unlike him, our residents can’t abuse federal power for personal gain to cover rising energy costs.”
During a Monday press conference streamed by WFSB, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said Trump’s decision stemmed from the Republican president’s desire to prop up the oil and gas industries at the expense of ratepayers.
“The bottom line for people here in Connecticut is also pretty simple: if this project doesn’t get started again, costs are going up,” Murphy said. “Already under Donald Trump, energy costs for consumers have gone up by 10%.”
Unions representing construction workers said the Republican decision would result in lost trade jobs. In a Monday statement, North America’s Building Trades Unions President Sean McGarvey said Trump had “personally signed off on killing these jobs.”
“President Donald Trump just fired 1,000 of our members who had already labored to complete 80% of this major energy project,” McGarvey said. “A ‘stop-work order’ is the fancy bureaucratic term, but it means one thing: throwing skilled American workers off the job after they’ve spent a decade training, building, and delivering.”
Gov. Ned Lamont said his administration was working closely with its partners to save the project and the many trade jobs it supports.
“Look, we’re going to get this over the finish line,” Lamont said during Monday’s press conference. “We’re having those conversations right now… We’re going to sit down and get this done. If they have some issues they want to discuss, let’s discuss them. Don’t shut down work and go on vacation.”
The administration’s decision to shut down the project was not the first time Republicans have advanced policies to raise electricity bills. Last month, congressional Republicans adopted a federal budget, which eliminated investments in other energy supply projects.
