The Cost of an Ordinary Life: A Stronger Energy Supply Means More Than Cheaper Fill-Ups

A few days ago, I wrote about the shock of driving a pickup truck that gets 22 miles per gallon, after 10 years of driving a plug-in electric hybrid that averaged about 51 miles per gallon. Filling up a larger tank more often led me to look for ways to save money wherever I could.

It wasn’t just about finding the lowest gas prices — I’ve always known where gas is going to be higher or lower, and those areas are pretty consistent. I’ve found apps from gas stations such as Chevron and QuikTrip that allow me to accumulate reward points and get discounts for paying through the apps. (And the QuikTrip app even offers me cheap fountain drinks, so bonus!)

There’s a policy-level solution that would help lower gas prices and increase American resilience, and a massive majority of Americans support it. According to recent polling, 89% of those surveyed agree that the U.S. should produce more energy to keep prices stable and maintain more control over its economy. Additionally, 78% are in favor of domestic oil production and refinery reform.

“The price of crude oil is the largest factor in determining U.S. retail gasoline prices,” explains the U.S. Energy Information Administration. “In the previous 10 years, the price of crude oil used at U.S. refineries accounted for slightly more than 50%, on average, of the retail average gasoline price.”

Energy prices drove 60% of the price increases we saw in one month, thanks to Iran and its antics. As my RedState colleague Ben Smith put it this summer, “The energy pain is broad-based, hitting consumers at the pump, at home, and everywhere in between.”

Of course, oil prices are a global matter, but increased domestic production will make some dent in prices. But perhaps more importantly, increased domestic production and refining capacity make our energy supply stronger and leave us less vulnerable to foreign energy disruptions.

Related: The Cost of an Ordinary Life: Your Grocery Bill Has a Long Journey Before It Gets to You

We also know that the free market makes a big difference in gas prices. When the government gets its hands out of business, we all benefit.

“Energy powers modern life, and affordable, reliable energy powers prosperity,” the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) reports. “Prices stabilize — and often decline — when Congress sets reasonable safety and environmental standards, then steps back to let free markets, innovation, and competition deliver supply, reliability, and controlled costs.”

The AFPI has 10 suggestions for congressional actions that could make a big impact on energy prices:

1. Codify the repeal of the 2024 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) amendments.
    Retaining existing, already-paid-for coal plants prevents forced early retirements, keeping electricity affordable and reliable while preserving the effective 2012 MATS protections.
2. Clarify that Clean Air Act Section 111 does not cover greenhouse gases.
    Restoring the original intent of the law stops unachievable carbon-capture mandates that threatened to close reliable coal and gas plants and drive up electricity costs for consumers.
3. Create a federal reliability safe harbor for at-risk coal and gas units.
    A temporary safe harbor keeps critical baseload plants operational until they can be replaced by equally reliable and affordable generation, protecting grid stability and preventing price spikes and reliability concerns caused by rushed closures.
4. Require data centers and hyperscalers to cover their costs.
    Requiring large new loads to self-fund their generation and grid upgrades stops cost-shifting to residential ratepayers and protects household electricity bills.
5. Fast-track firm generation, especially at brownfield sites.
    Prioritizing rapid permitting and interconnection for dispatchable power plants on existing industrial sites quickly adds reliable capacity using current infrastructure at far lower cost.
6. Codify hard deadlines for new reactor licenses, uprates, and restarts with automatic approvals.
    Strict timelines and automatic approvals at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission overcome decades of regulatory delays and accelerate deployment of clean, reliable, dispatchable nuclear power.
7. Impose a 180-day deadline on Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decisions for interstate pipelines.
    Firm deadlines eliminate endless regulatory delays, allowing natural gas to reach markets faster, increasing supply and lowering prices for electricity, heating, and manufacturing.
8. Codify limits on Clean Water Act Section 401 permits.
    Restricting Section 401 certifications to genuine water-quality issues stops states from blocking interstate pipelines and ensures all Americans can access affordable domestic energy.
9. Fully repeal the federal methane fee.
    Eliminating the Waste Emissions Charge removes an unnecessary tax on natural gas producers that raises consumer prices with virtually no global climate benefit. Long-term statutory approaches here would ensure future administrations cannot rush the rule back into place.
10. Reform the Jones Act to reduce costs for shipping oil and refined products.
     Targeted waivers or reform of Jones Act restrictions on domestic energy shipping cuts excessive transportation costs and lowers gasoline, diesel, and natural gas prices nationwide.

Even achieving one or two of those initiatives would make a huge dent in our energy resilience. All 10 of them could revolutionize the way this country approaches energy policy.

Of course, to accomplish these bold goals, we have to have a Congress that will act audaciously, prioritize the free market, and innovate. I believe we know which party wouldn’t act in any of those ways.

American consumers can benefit in multiple ways from lower energy prices, but increasing domestic energy production is about more than the economy. It’s about building a nation that’s more robust and secure.

Here’s hoping voters will do the right thing and keep the House and Senate in GOP hands, and that, as a result, we’ll see better energy policy and lower prices. But I’m still going to stack my points in the gas apps and look for deals on a Big Q from time to time.

Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.

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