U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is 100 percent correct when she talks about the need to "keep the lights on," as she did Monday at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. As energy policy goes, Washington has no greater priority than keeping American families and businesses well-supplied with affordable, reliable energy.
That means embracing American natural gas and oil, both of which are produced to some of the highest safety and environmental standards in the world. Together, they accounted for about 70 percent of the energy Americans used in 2022—for transportation, home heating and thousands of products we rely on. Natural gas and oil will continue to be our leading energy sources in the future,—experts project—again, because they have been affordable and reliable in keeping the lights on.
Judging by Granholm's remarks, she appears to recognize that Americans' basic need for affordable, reliable energy—woven into pocketbook issues that matter in an election year—should be a top Washington priority. Passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, with its support for alternative energy sources, is important, but so is recognizing that American oil and natural gas come cleaner and safer than oil and natural gas produced elsewhere.
Let's hope Granholm holds sway within an administration that too often has worked against sound energy policy. Three examples come to........