TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY • November 9, 2022
During the extremely cold winter of 2017-18, New England came within two days of rolling blackouts. Natural gas supplies were constrained because anti-fracking and anti-fossil fuel campaigns led to pipeline proposals being killed and officials in the Maritime Administration (MARAD) worked in coordination with the U.S. shipbuilding industry to block a Jones Act waiver for New England. That law requires ships that transport goods directly between two U.S. ports to be American-made and American-owned. There are no LNG tankers that fit those qualifications. This year officials have warned that without additional access to natural gas, the region could face winter blackouts. Again, New England leaders have floated a Jones Act waiver as a way to get access to needed natural gas supplies. So far, the administration has resisted the requests.