Betsy McCaughey Sues NY Over Pipeline in CT Governor Race

Betsy McCaughey filed suit in federal court Tuesday, taking her campaign for Connecticut’s Republican gubernatorial nomination across state lines to Foley Square in Manhattan, where she accused New York Gov. Kathy Hochul of illegally blocking a natural gas pipeline that she says is costing Connecticut ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The lawsuit centers on the Constitution Pipeline, a proposed project that would carry Marcellus Shale natural gas from northeast Pennsylvania into New England. McCaughey, a Greenwich resident, argues that Hochul’s opposition to the pipeline violates the interstate commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution. She filed as a private consumer and ratepayer, not waiting for state government to act.

“I’m not going to wait ‘til I’m governor,” McCaughey said. “There’s no reason that the people of Connecticut should wait six more months to start remedying this situation.”

A real cost, a real fight

The numbers she’s citing aren’t small. McCaughey quoted Laura Swett, the chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as telling Congress that blocking the pipeline forces New England consumers to pay as much as 300% more for natural gas than they otherwise would. Connecticut’s electric rates are already among the highest in the country. That’s not a talking point. It’s a line item on every utility bill in the state.

McCaughey’s sharper attack was directed not at Hochul but at Gov. Ned Lamont, who is seeking a third term. “The big question, of course, is why hasn’t Ned Lamont filed this suit to produce affordable energy for the people of his state, instead of kowtowing to a partisan buddy next door in New York State?” she said.

Lamont’s campaign pushed back hard. Spokesman Rob Blanchard called the lawsuit “a political stunt geared to the desires of Trump,” whose administration has pushed fossil fuel-based electricity generation over renewables. “Gov. Lamont has made lowering utility costs by expanding energy capacity a top priority,” Blanchard said. “Offshore wind and other renewables are key, but real progress requires a balanced mix of nuclear, natural gas, hydropower and emerging technologies.”

Blanchard also pointed to Revolution Wind as evidence that Lamont can deliver without Trump’s help. “It succeeded because Connecticut has a governor willing to stand up to Donald Trump, not one busy trying to win his approval with stunts.”

Lamont’s balancing act

The governor has his own complicated relationship with this issue. He has said he’s been in talks with both Hochul and the Trump administration about expanding natural gas supply. That dual outreach reflects the bind Connecticut is in: the state needs cheaper power now, but it has also made serious commitments to cutting carbon emissions. Those two goals don’t always point in the same direction.

Lamont’s approach has been to pursue both tracks simultaneously, a strategy that frustrates people on all sides. McCaughey is betting that Connecticut voters are more angry about their electric bills than they are committed to the energy transition timeline.

She’s not the only one who thought of this

Worth noting: the idea of suing New York isn’t original to McCaughey’s campaign. Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, the ranking Republican on the Energy and Technology Committee and one of the three candidates seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination, said Tuesday he has been discussing a lawsuit against New York for “at least a year now,” though he framed it as something the state itself could consider pursuing.

Fazio’s comment matters. He and McCaughey are competing for the same nomination, and the distinction between “I filed a lawsuit today” and “I’ve been talking about this for a year” is exactly the kind of contrast that plays out in primary debates. Three candidates are chasing one nomination, and the person who acts tends to dominate the news cycle.

CT Mirror reported that it was unclear Tuesday what the litigation would ultimately cost McCaughey to pursue.

What to watch

The lawsuit will almost certainly become a centerpiece of the Republican primary fight. If federal judges entertain the interstate commerce argument seriously, it hands McCaughey a credibility boost. If it gets dismissed quickly, Lamont’s camp will use that outcome all the way to November.

For commuters on the Metro-North who open their CL&P bills every month and wince, the underlying question is real even if the legal strategy is partly political theater. Connecticut can’t generate cheaper electricity without more supply. The debate over where that supply comes from is just starting.