U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, questioned Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Apr. 21 about rising gas prices and the department's actions to support aging coal plants during a committee hearing on the Trump administration’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2027.
The discussion focused on how recent policy decisions are affecting energy costs for consumers. Heinrich said high gas prices at the pump are a direct result of the administration’s involvement in Iran and criticized the use of emergency authority to keep coal plants running with funds originally allocated for carbon capture projects.
Heinrich began by asking Secretary Wright if he stood by his earlier statement that gas prices may not fall below $3 per gallon until 2027. Wright responded, “I don't know the future of energy prices. Often I will speculate or look at those things. I would say gasoline prices looks like they peaked about a week or so ago, one dollar a gallon cheaper than they peaked during the Biden administration. Yet we're in the midst of ending a 47-year conflict in the Middle East, a major energy producing region.”
When pressed further about current fuel costs, Wright said, “Well, in contrast to the last administration, our goal is as low as possible energy prices. And yes, we were proud to have gasoline prices below two dollars a gallon earlier this year, and we look forward to getting them back there.” He confirmed that current gasoline is “just over four dollars” per gallon while diesel is “over five dollars,” with higher figures reported in certain states.
Heinrich also challenged DOE’s use of emergency powers to keep coal plants online even when utilities had already arranged replacement generation capacity. He asked whether it was appropriate for consumers to bear additional costs from these decisions: "Is it appropriate to pass those costs on to consumers? Shouldn't the Department of Energy be responsible for those costs? $42 million in the case of the Michigan plant." Wright replied that avoiding blackouts justifies such measures: "It’s hard to overstate the cost to health and businesses and consumers of blackouts... after we kept [the] Campbell coal power plant running... they were at the edge of a blackout."
The exchange also covered DOE’s repurposing congressionally allocated funds intended for carbon capture projects toward keeping coal-fired power plants operational instead. Heinrich questioned what statutory authority allowed this reallocation: "What statutory authority allows you to move those dollars? I couldn't find anything in statute that allowed those to be reallocated." Wright answered,"So we have continued to look at proposals for carbon capture on coal plants.When we find one or ones that make economic sense, we will deploy those funds... These were funds targeted for enhancing coal plants.We're enhancing them to keep them open.”
The hearing highlighted ongoing disagreements between lawmakers and agency officials over how best to manage U.S. energy resources amid international conflict and domestic policy debates.
