It’s Official: LNG Exports Harm the Public Interest

December 17, 2024

It's Official: LNG Exports Harm the Public Interest

Department of Energy study must be used to deny existing export applications, and revisit those already approved

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) assessment released today found that expanding export of liquefied natural gas, also known as LNG, risks exposing American households to higher energy prices. The study demonstrates that all pending export applications must be rejected for being inconsistent with the public interest. The report concludes that exporting liquefied natural gas at projected growth rates would increase prices for domestic energy consumers by up to 30% and would raise the price of electricity. In the widely anticipated study, the five scenarios explored by the DOE found that the increased export of LNG would increase the emission of greenhouse gases, and increased LNG exports would displace more wind, solar, and other renewable energy, rather than displacing coal as fossil fuel lobbyists have long claimed.

In response, Tyson Slocum , director of Public Citizen's Energy Program, issued the following statement:

"Eighty-six years ago, Congress established the first-ever federal consumer protections for natural gas, regulating it as an essential utility service, declaring that most exports of the gas cannot occur unless first deemed to be in the public interest. In less than a decade, the U.S. has gone from exporting no LNG, to becoming the largest exporter of this fossil fuel in the world. The explosion of exports has upended domestic energy markets, forcing American households and businesses to compete with Berlin and Beijing for access to U.S.-produced fuel, and has exposed American energy markets to increased price volatility and episodes of sharply higher prices.

"Already-approved and under construction LNG export terminals will nearly double America's already record export capacity, and pending applications would result in as much as a quadrupling of existing capacity. Today's study makes clear that all pending export applications must be denied as being inconsistent with the public interest, and should result in a reassessment of existing exports to determine compatibility with the public interest. Using LNG exports to provide energy abundance for China at the expense of higher utility bills for working Americans is not in the public interest"

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