The Industrial Energy Consumers of America has announced its support of the confirmation of Chris Wright to be Secretary of Energy. IECA believes Wright brings a wealth of knowledge in the energy field, coupled with his technical background. Paul N. Cicio, President of IECA, made the following statement: “During his confirmation hearing, Mr. Wright was asked if he would protect domestic consumers from the impacts of increasing volumes of LNG exports. He said that he would. Our current policy is not an America First LNG policy, it is an America Last policy. Forty-eight bcf/day of LNG exports have already been approved, which is almost half of U.S. net supply. Our concerns about LNG exports and their impact on natural gas and electricity prices are playing out right now as the country finds itself in a winter freeze. U.S. inventory is falling like a rock. Low inventories mean higher prices. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) data proves that LNG exporters maximize shipments during winter months when we have our highest demand. LNG customers are countries that are insensitive to price, wielding 25-year supply contracts that guarantee that their countries get natural gas, while depleting U.S. inventories, which increases our prices and is a threat to reliability. What is happening right now is exactly what happened during the winter of 2021-2022, when Henry Hub monthly prices rose from $2.00 per MMBtu to $8.20 per MMBtu and electricity prices also increased 30 percent. It is for this reason that we urge the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Congress to put in place our LNG Inventory Policy to insulate U.S. consumers from the impacts.”
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