BOSTON (SHNS) - The state's top energy official stopped short of saying whether the Healey administration would consider expanding natural gas infrastructure to reduce utility bills while stressing that natural gas is an "important part of our energy mix right now." Energy and Environmental Affai rs Secretary Rebecca Tepper faced questions from lawmakers Monday about what the state can do to rein in electricity and gas bills, which spiked this winter amid cold temperatures and a surge in demand. Natural gas was used to generate 55% of the power produced in 2024 by New England’s power plants, the regional grid operator reported last week, and the state's shift to offshore wind power has been a slow one. She did not give a clear yes or no answer when asked several times by a Republican senator if the response to high costs would feature any support for construction of additional natural gas pipelines and related infrastructure, an idea popular among some but controversial with environmental groups. "As you know, we use natural gas in the state, and it's an important part of our energy mix right now," Tepper replied to Sen. Kelly Dooner's question of whether the administration's goal of diversifying energy sources included expanding natural gas. The secretary described a big-picture effort to achieve "more affordable bills" for energy consumers, detailing goals of lowering wholesale electricity prices, using technology to make electricity transmission more efficient, and reducing peak power demand. "[We] really want to look at all the different options for clean energy. The governor's about yes and not about no, and adding and not about subtracting," Tepper said. Dooner followed up and asked whether there was anything the Legislature could do "and if that diversifying includes expanding natural gas." "We have several ideas about what the Legislature can do, and we're going to have that in our energy affordability bill," Tepper replied. "So that doesn't include expanding natural gas, or it might?" Dooner asked. "Well, as I said, natural gas is already part of our energy infrastructure," Tepper said. Healey sketched out a plan on March 10 to reduce household energy bills through administrative actions, including a smaller budget increase for the Mass Save energy efficiency program and a one-time $50 credit on electric bills funded by money the state collected. For more than a month, Healey has also been suggesting she will file a bill with additional reforms designed to make energy costs more affordable, but the administration has not yet submitted any formal recommendation. Tepper told lawmakers Monday the bill will "lower ratepayers' costs for energy and all of clean energy, and [work on] ending programs that are out of date and using creative funding mechanisms to save customers money." One component of the bill will address transmission-related "asset conditioning projects," according to Tepper, who said those projects currently do not receive significant oversight and can contribute to rising prices. "There will be a provision in the bill that addresses directly this asset conditioning piece of it, and also an encouragement overall of looking at the bill as a whole and looking at other programs that are out of date, that we don't need anymore, we can just take off the bill," she said. "Are there more creative ways for the utilities to do financing that could save money over time, like securitization, different kinds of financing mechanisms?" Some of the factors contributing to energy bills are not directly under the purview of state regulators, Tepper said, including transmission overseen by federal officials and global prices for gas. Healey and her deputies have also argued that bringing more energy into Massachusetts will help lower prices for consumers. By the end of the year, Tepper said, the state should have about 800 megawatts of clean power being generated by Vineyard Wind and another 1,200 megawatts from hydropower generated in Quebec. "More energy in, more supply, costs go down. That's why, you know, as governor, I've taken an all-of-the-above approach. I want hydro coming in from Canada, I want the solar, I want the wind, we need to continue with the gas. Like, all of the above," Healey said in an interview on WCVB's "On the Record" that aired Sunday. "So legislation I'm going to be filing soon will work to level it out so that there isn't such surprise, such shock, such volatility. But at the end of the day, what we need is more energy into the region. We need more sources of energy into the region, more supply. Prices will go down." Tepper also signaled Monday that administration officials are thinking about the next regularly filed environmental bond bill, which would use borrowed dollars to fund significant environmental work around the state. She said one factor contributing to development of the legislation is the spate of wildfires driven by significant drought. "As you know, we had a lot of fires this year, the most in our state history. That's why this year, we'll be focusing on strengthening our infrastructure and building resilience to climate change. This will be a major focus of our next environmental bond bill," Tepper said. "We have been speaking with legislators and stakeholders across the state about what they would like to see in a bond bill. The legislation we intend to advance will incorporate that input." Republican lawmakers from across New England, including Republican Sen. Ryan Fattman of Sutton, and several think tanks plan to host a press conference Tuesday to discuss "the effects of alternative energy mandates on the region's taxpayers." Some clean energy programs in Massachusetts such as the Mass Save energy efficiency program have driven up utility bills while also providing other benefits to consumers. (Colin A. Young contributed reporting.) ...read more read less