Tell Trump American Consumers Can't Afford His Push for LNG Exports

An increase in LNG exports would hit consumers in three ways – higher prices for natural gas itself, higher prices for electricity produced from natural gas, and higher prices for goods whose manufacturers pass their own natural gas costs through to consumers. DOE must act in the best interest of the public it serves and avoid burdening consumers.

According to DOE’s latest analysis, “To date, U.S. consumers and businesses have benefited from relatively stable natural gas prices domestically as compared to those in other parts of the world who have faced far greater price volatility.  The more volumes of U.S. LNG are exported, the greater the risk of this global price volatility being imported into our domestic market and impacting U.S. consumers and manufacturers.” 

The last DOE study before the current one was done in 2018 during your last term in office. It claimed that consumers would benefit from their investments in companies that operate their own liquefaction plants. The Private Equity Stakeholder Project found that “investment by foreign investors represents about 78% of the peak export capacity from operating US LNG terminals in 2023.” Meanwhile, 58% of the 17 companies they researched are not publicly traded. 

Domestic natural gas prices will rise for households, institutions, and businesses as more LNG exports increase. The DOE study found that the prices could go up more than 30%, resulting in an increase of more than $100 on average annually per household. 

A frequent argument for increased methane gas production is the need to address supply shortages. In 2021, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issued an event report that said, “In accordance with the Disaster Declaration issued by the State of Texas due to severe winter weather, the Governor’s office asked that Freeport LNG voluntarily curtail operations at its Liquefaction Plant to minimize the use of natural gas and electrical power consumption. Subsequent to this request, Freeport LNG reduced feed and shut down its Liquefaction Train 2. This resulted in unplanned venting to the Liquefaction Flare (LIQFLARE) as the train was shutdown.” LNG exports exacerbate shortages that come from weather events or disasters. 

Reuters reports that at least six Asian countries are expressing interest in buying LNG from the U.S. to avoid your tariffs. Elsewhere, Reuters quoted you as saying that Europe would "pay a big price" in the form of tariffs if they didn’t buy American LNG and other fuels. Any tariffs imposed on goods from countries that don’t cave to the pressure will compound the adverse impacts on consumers LNG exports already cause. You must avoid setting in motion spiraling impacts on consumers.