MASSACHUSETTS FAMILIES ARE facing skyrocketing energy bills, and the Trump administration’s reckless energy and trade policies are making it worse.

Already, some Bay Staters are paying double what they did last year on their energy bills, largely thanks to an aging gas system struggling to respond to extreme weather fueled by climate change. And in New England, where approximately 10 percent of electricity and 80 percent of gasoline and diesel fuel come from Canada, Trump’s on-again, off-again approach to tariffs is creating significant uncertainty and instability in the energy market. 

The last thing Massachusetts families need is an administration lurching from one headline-driven policy to the next.  

In March, President Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico and a lower 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy imports, with certain exemptions. If just the 10 percent tariff level on energy imports from Canada is fully implemented, Bay Staters could foot more than $370 million per year in additional costs, and New Englanders could be out over $1 billion.  

The temporary halt in March of electricity exports on a key transmission line carrying primarily hydropower from Quebec to New England underscored just how interconnected Massachusetts and the broader region are with Canadian energy.   

Then, earlier this month, Trump announced broad tariffs on top of those already in place. On Wednesday, he backed down and paused some of their implementation for 90 days. Once they go into effect, these tariffs will disrupt supply chains, shrink paychecks, and drive up energy costs across the country. The increasingly high tariff on China, and general uncertainty around the tariffs, is likely to still do just that.  

Yet this isn’t just about today’s energy bills — it’s about the future of our energy system and our planet. In Massachusetts, the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Cities like Boston are enduring more frequent extreme heat days and record-breaking temperatures. 

Sea level is projected to climb as much as four feet by 2070, threatening homes, businesses, and critical infrastructure from Cape Cod to the South Coast. And heavy rainfall is overwhelming stormwater systems and exacerbating environmental injustices in places like the Mystic River Watershed. These escalating impacts hit hardest in communities already grappling with unaffordable energy bills, aging infrastructure, and limited resources. Without urgent action to curb emissions and build resilience, the consequences — to lives, livelihoods, and our economy — will only grow. 

Tackling climate change requires a comprehensive energy strategy that invests in cost-effective and quick-to-deploy renewables, safeguards community health, and boosts resilience. Trump’s haphazard trade war — coupled with attacks on renewables and executive orders expediting oil and gas production and exports — does none of that.  

His tariffs exempt the oil and gas industry — the very industry that donated $1 billion to his campaign. And as oil and gas executives further invest in the dirty energy that fuels the extreme weather, consumers will only spend more on heating and cooling their homes while the wealthy continue to profit.  

Just as Massachusetts families must not be left at the mercy of chaotic trade policies, volatile fossil fuel markets, and greedy oil executives, neither should they be left at the mercy of utility profit seeking or price-gouging suppliers.  

While Bay Staters struggle to pay for heat, multibillion-dollar utility companies continue to hike rates and rake in massive profits for their shareholders, largely thanks to misaligned incentives for investor-owned utilities. At the same time, certain competitive electric suppliers disproportionately target low-income households and communities of color with tactics that lure many into contracts that promise savings but end up costing more.    

Families deserve long-term strategies that lower costs, ensure energy security and resilience, and protect ratepayers. That means deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency, upgrading our grid, and ensuring policies that serve working families — not corporate profits.  

While state officials work to provide immediate relief to consumers, we must fully invest in energy assistance that meets the scale of the crisis. In Massachusetts, more than 150,000 families depend on the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to heat and cool their homes each month.  

My Heating and Cooling Relief Act would expand LIHEAP and ensure more families can afford to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Yet the Trump administration just eliminated the federal staff responsible for LIHEAP — increasing the risk that more families will be forced to choose between paying their bills or putting food on the table. We must protect energy assistance for low-income households as energy prices increase.   

Massachusetts families shouldn’t have to bear the costs of Trump’s trade war and corporate greed. We must break our dependence on expensive and polluting fossil fuels by accelerating the transition to clean energy — no matter what Trump and his Big Oil barons try to do. As Massachusetts continues its climate leadership, I will keep fighting in DC for policies that put renewables over fossil fuels and people over profits — not the other way around. Together, we will deliver the energy security and affordability our communities deserve.  

Edward Markey is a US senator from Massachusetts. He is a member of the Environment and Public Works Committee and co-author of the Green New Deal resolution.