Antis Get a Do-Over for Iroquois Compressor Permit in Connecticut
In March, we brought you the news that a Connecticut Superior Court judge tossed a lawsuit filed by Big Green group Save the Sound and the colluding Town of Brookfield, telling them their attempt to stop the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) from ruling on the Iroquois compressor permit was premature (see Judge Tosses Premature Lawsuit to Block Iroquois CT Compressor). The judge said, in effect, wait until DEEP issues a final permit, then appeal. Final permits were expected “sometime in March.” It’s now late July. There are still no final permits. And DEEP has just handed the antis exactly the thing a judge said they’d have to wait for — and then some. Read More “Antis Get a Do-Over for Iroquois Compressor Permit in Connecticut”
If we had a nickel for every time we’ve read or heard the Democrats claim the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a tax on carbon dioxide emissions for coal- and gas-fired power plants, doesn’t raise electricity rates, we’d be millionaires! Not that it was ever in question that RGGI does raise rates; we now have a smoking gun. Connecticut’s carbon allowance auction prices under RGGI have risen from $3.07 per allowance in 2008 to $35 per allowance in June 2026, a jump of over 900%. Connecticut residents pay the third-highest (or second-highest, depending on the source) electricity rates in the entire country behind only Hawaii and California. Massachusetts, another RGGI member, is right behind Connecticut at fourth-highest. 
This is so frustrating. After seven years, $150 million, and 31 of 34 miles already underground, Connecticut has halted a pipeline project designed to provide a more dependable natural gas supply to the booming southeastern Connecticut economy. Ealier this year MDN told you that Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) had determined that Eversource Energy’s plan to install a natural gas pipeline through Hurd State Park and the Connecticut Valley Railroad State Park Trail requires a formal Environmental Impact Evaluation, unnecessarily delaying a tiny portion (1.1 miles) of this critically-important reliability project (see 
A new report from UConn’s Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis, bought and paid for by the anti-fossil fuel Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (meaning it’s useless propaganda), argues that the state’s past expansion of natural gas saddled customers with costly infrastructure upgrades without lowering fuel prices. The so-called report says most of the increased gas demand went to power plants—including three new or expanded facilities—rather than heating homes. The propagandists claim that Connecticut, a net electricity exporter, supposedly “absorbed pollution costs,” while benefiting neighboring states. 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million “contribution” (we call it a bribe) to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see 
The Iroquois Gas Transmission’s Enhancement by Compression (ExC) project will increase horsepower at three compression stations — two in New York and one in Connecticut — by an extra 125 MMcf/d, to flow more Marcellus/Utica gas into New York City and New England. The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) approved the permits for the NY compressors with the condition that Iroquois pays a $1.5 million “contribution” (we call it a bribe) to the “Disadvantaged Community Benefit Program” (see 
Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Betsy McCaughey (Republican) has sued New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat), alleging a violation of the Interstate Commerce Clause for blocking the Constitution Pipeline. McCaughey claims Hochul’s actions prevent cheaper Marcellus Shale natural gas from reaching New England, thereby increasing Connecticut’s electricity rates. McCaughey, who lives in Greenwich, claims legal standing to sue as a consumer and ratepayer. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, aims to force New York to allow construction of the pipeline, which she argues would provide Connecticut residents with more affordable energy. Do-nothing Governor Ned Lamont (lifer Democrat, running for a third term) dismissed the suit as a political stunt.