Liberal governors warm to gas pipelines as data-centre demand strains Northeast grids

Liberal governors warm to gas pipelines as data-centre demand strains Northeast grids Democratic governors in the US Northeast are easing a decade of opposition to new gas infrastructure as power-demand forecasts climb, reshaping regional supply economics. Democratic governors in the US Northeast are backing away from a decade of blanket opposition to new natural gas pipelines, E&E News reported, as rising electricity demand collides with the region's high power costs and stalled offshore wind. New England has blocked most new gas infrastructure for years. Now the politics are shifting.⁴ The pressure behind that shift is load growth. US data-centre demand is projected to add between 65GW and 90GW of new load by 2029, according to Grid Strategies, and regional grid operators have asked federal regulators to extend a 2021 deadline to upgrade transmission capacity. The buildout is running into a grid that cannot expand fast enough.² The governors are exposed. They face re-election while caught between environmentalist voters who oppose fossil-fuel projects and industrial customers demanding reliable, affordable power. Trump's attacks on wind energy have limited the prospects for additional offshore projects, leaving gas as the path of least resistance even for Democrats who spent years resisting it.⁴ That trade-off carries a price. New England's wholesale power costs are already among the highest in the continental US, and a tighter gas supply during winter peaks would push them higher. Henry Hub front-month traded at $3.11 on Thursday (2026-06-11), down 0.32 percent on the session, a soft level that does little to slow the regional case for more pipe.⁴ [live_prices] Coal is not filling the gap. Trump used emergency powers in an April 2025 executive order to direct the Department of Energy to support coal-fired generation, but research from Pennsylvania State University found coal remains expensive relative to gas even with federal backing. The dispatch economics have not changed.¹ The request for a deadline extension underscores the deeper problem. Infrastructure that takes a decade to permit cannot keep pace with data-centre load. Regional operators, including PJM, asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to delay upgrade requirements first set in late 2021, when FERC directed the six major operators outside Texas to establish capacity programmes. Permitting timelines and demand curves have decoupled.² A version of the same fight is playing out in Australia. The Liberal-National Coalition has split over how far government should intervene in markets, including a push by the Nationals to break up the Coles and Woolworths supermarket chains, which together hold around 65 percent market share. The infighting has crowded out a coherent energy policy.³ That vacuum matters for power. Australia's National Electricity Market is already managing coal-plant retirements and renewables integration. The South Australia spot price sat at A$76.75/MWh on Thursday (2026-06-11), a level that does little to pull new dispatchable capacity into the system while the political right argues with itself.³ [live_prices] Back in the US, the durability of the pivot is unproven. Environmental groups have vowed to challenge new permits in court, and early-stage studies are not construction approvals. The fact that pipelines are being discussed at all marks a real departure.⁴ The next signal sits with FERC. Whether the regulator grants the grid operators' extension request will shape how quickly capacity catches up to load, and how forcefully governors who have started to bend feel they must follow through.²