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Five projects representing twenty eight billion dollars in committed capital, several billion of those in the state of Connecticut, which is why we're glad to be joined by the Governor of Connecticut, Democrat Ned Lamont. It's great to have you here with us on Bloomberg TV and radio. If in fact this is halted here the Mayor of New London, Michael Picerro, says, the Grinch has just stolen Christmas?
Is he right? Not a heck of a Christmas present?
Was it? Look you just heard the President say he doesn't hike wind power, but he's not going to interrupt things that were permitted a long time ago. Our Win Revolution Win was actually permitted under Crump one back in twenty eighteen nineteen, so a long time ago. So this was a real shock to our system. They did it
to us over Labor Day as well. Remember they had a stop work order, no ordering it all this time they pull the impermanits and we've got to quite a like heck to come back, because you're never going to bring down the price of electricity in New England unless we get more generation, and that's what wind power.
Does Governor in September your state successfully one. It's been in courts to lift the moratorium that the Trump ininstration put in when it first took office on wind power. Now the administration is going out again and raising national security concerns. Some analysts are looking at that and saying this could be a more durable way to essentially do the same thing. What's your taken. Do you think those national security concerns are legitimate?
No?
I think the President said I don't like wind power, come up with another way that I.
That you can shut it down.
And it was only very recently they came up with these national security concerns. I talked to the Secretary of Interior, Doug Bargom. I'm known them for many years. I said, I'm not sure this is for real, but if you want to, we'll come down. We'll talk to you about it. We'll bring down the folks building the wind power, the engineers, but don't stop us in mid construction for the second time in three months.
Get us blowing a hole in.
Our efforts can bring down the price of electricity in New England.
You know, we understand that this project is about eighty five percent complete, it would power some three hundred and fifty thousand homes across Connecticut and Rhode Island. What will happen to electricity bills without the wind farm.
More likely to spike.
We can't put pipes in the ground to get natural gas and oil. We're just not that type of a state. We don't have that capacity. It's very rare that we can create our own generation. Offshore wind is one way we can do that. And the more generation we have, the less spiking energy during very cold periods, and that means we can save money for electric rape payers.
We want to welcome our viewers joining us from the TV side, TV colleagues, and we are here with Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont talking of course about this new announcement out of the Department of Energy today putting a halt on those five major wind farm projects, including the one that's being assembled in your state. Governor, I'm curious how this is going to play with constituents, not only in your state, but across the country. As energy prices are expensive,
it's cold, and they're looking to spike. You know, the energy crisis is something that's constantly talked about. This is also an administration that is trying to remove barriers to other forms of energy, including nuclear. President has said he wants to restart coal, so why not add wind energy to that. Why is this specific mechanism of generating power in his crosshairs?
It is contradictory. I've talked to the President about this. He cares very strong about breaking down the price of electricity, especially in New England where we don't have a lot of our own generation and gets expensive. I said, we'll work with you on a nuclear power, work with you on natural gas and other sources, but don't pull the plug on a plant that's already eighty five percent complete, ready to turn on in just a few months.
That makes no sense at all. I thought we had an agreement they weren't going to do that. Then we were shopped.
All right, Well, I want to get back to the justification from the administration here, Governor, and I know you commented on this briefly, but I'd like to hear more about the national security concerns or a lack thereof knowing that the Interior Department says these turbines may interfere with
radar systems. We understand, however, according to the Attorney General, William Tong, The project's already gone through federal review, he says, fully vetted, permitted, state, federal, up and down, inside out, every which way you can.
Is that correct, William's absolutely correct, And actually it went through a very strong national security.
Review over the last few years.
Voted on on a biparison basis in Congress just a year and a half ago, where they said it is the administration just making this already issues?
Is the administration just making this up?
Then?
I think so. But look, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the down. Get us down there.
We'll bring the very best engineers from Warsteed who's a developer.
We'll talk it through.
But there's not a students for shutting this down in minstride, not in the ninth ending of the ballgame. Look, they're seeing drones has changed the world dramatically. They want to take a second look. And you know on shore radar it didn't change the world in the last twelve months.
Also, this is not to a point you mean earlier. This is not a new technology. These wind turbines have existed in Europe, Munch to the president chagrin for quite a few years now. We haven't previously heard of it having big impacts on NATO or Europe's military readiness and offshore areas there. We've also got some reporting from Bloomberg and analyst it and James saying I'm skeptical that there's any new information about the military concerns all of a
sudden that single handedly warrants these projects being halted. So do you think this is an esthetic not necessarily an economic or national security decision? Do?
I mean?
Last time around it was birds in Wales. This time around it's radar. I don't know what it's going to be next time. I got to tell you, I come out of the business world, but I thought the Trump administration had a lot of business folks and it was going to be a pro business administration. But this hurriky jerky on again, off again. First they didn't terrif, then they didn't snap. Now they're doing wind power. Makes it very difficult to do business with this administration.
Very difficult.
Well, I'd like to hear more about that, just from your view in Connecticut, you mentioned snap. We can add Obamacare subsidies that are about to expire, sending people's bills higher. How much are you and other governors working to fill affordability gaps are being created by the administration.
I can tell you hearing tonight that we've set aside, you know, five hundred million dollars just to at least protect the most vulnerable. But the idea that you were going to yank food support from a working families when food branches have almost doubled in the last five years made no sense. Then, as NASA pointed out, when it comes to the healthcare subsidies in the exchange, people are going to see their bills go up one or two thousand dollars. That's a heck of a Christmas president, and
that's a real shock for the system. So we made sure that we protected all of our families up to about one hundred and twenty eight thousand. Then we softened the blow for everybody else.
Guvernor you said you've been talking to the Trump administration throughout this process and about this decision, how they're treating it previously. I'm wondering did you get any kind of a heads up. Have you spoken to the president since this decision came down, and if not, what do you want to tell him now?
This really came out of left field. At the very last moment. We had had a conference call all the governors with Secretary's Berghaman right just a couple of weeks ago, talking about pipelines and natural gas.
This did not come up at all.
Like I said, I think this was a problem, a solution looking for a problem, and it's the wrong solution.
Just lastly, then, Governor, what would you tell people driving to work today in Putnam, Connecticut who are already looking at expensive electric bills. They're worried about the data center that might be coming in next door. Do they need to brace for higher prices and what will they look like in twenty twenty six.
Well, we're saying a pause on data centers just because they suck so much electricity and drive them costs. But one of the things we need is more generation. I think those ratepayers and Putnam know all too well that we're doing everything we can to add more electricity generation, bring down costs for you and your family and cold in applog and revolution should.
Win in the ninth inning makes no sense at all.
Well, this is something that we're going to keep talking about here. It sounds like you might not have a sense or be able to quantify how much those bills are going to rise. Governor, is that fair to say?
I can tell you that it's going to go up, and it could go up dramatically during very cold times when wind power is generating the most.
So we're going to have a spike and energy demand. That's what I'm trying to protect you from.
I hear you, and right when heating oil season kicks in in New England. Governor, it's great to have you. We appreciate your insights today on Bloomberg. Joining us live from Connecticut. That's Democratic Governor Led Lamont with us