Josh Shapiro uses political theater to deflect blame for surging Pennsylvania electricity rates

“Drill, baby, drill” are the words Donald Trump chanted to a cheering crowd in Pennsylvania just two years ago. For many people in the Keystone State, that was music to their ears as the state is second largest in America for fracking.

Fast-forward two years, and the issue has become a focal point of the 2026 gubernatorial race, and it absolutely should be, because what is happening in Pennsylvania right now is nothing short of a policy abomination.

‘Drill, baby, drill’ isn’t just a slogan. For Pennsylvania, it’s a lifeline, and Harrisburg keeps cutting it.

I’m a Pennsylvania girl. I know this is what’s going on in my community, I’ve seen decisions in Harrisburg impact people throughout the commonwealth in real time, and right now, working families are hurting.

For one, electricity bills have surged across Pennsylvanian homes in recent years, with the average household getting double-digit rate hikes and higher summer costs impacting family budgets. Utility shut-offs climbed toward four million households nationwide in 2025. Pennsylvanians alone are being squeezed dry every time they flip a light switch.

Here’s the kicker: Pennsylvania is sitting on a gold mine. The Marcellus Shale formation underlies roughly two-thirds of the state and holds an estimated 250 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. We are an energy exporter. We produce more natural gas than almost any state in the nation. We should be flush with affordable, reliable power.

RELATED: Drill, baby, drill: Oil tech expert reveals why Trump’s toughness on the industry is actually good

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Instead, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) is writing strongly worded letters.

The crisis in Pennsylvania isn’t a political messaging problem that a few stern letters to utility executives can fix; it’s a supply crisis.

Demand is exploding, with PJM, the operator managing the grid for 65 million people across 13 states, is projecting a razor-thin energy surplus of just .2 gigawatts for the coming delivery year. This is despite a recommended safety buffer of nearly 20%.

And what has Shapiro done to actually address supply? He’s strangled it.

His so-called “Lightning Plan,” which was touted as a bold, all-of-the-above energy strategy, is anything but. Critics have correctly identified it as a disguised carbon tax through his Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act. His administration has maintained a moratorium on new drilling in state parks and state forests. His regulatory environment has made permitting a slow, grinding nightmare for the very energy producers who could relieve the pressure Pennsylvanians are feeling every time they open their utility bill.

The situation regarding the natural gas sector also paints a clear picture of the situation. The industry employs roughly 120,000 workers in Pennsylvania today, less than half of what it employed a decade ago. The important thing to note is that we still have the resources and the workforce, yet we don’t have a governor willing to get out of the way and let Pennsylvania be the energy powerhouse it’s supposed to be.

While Shapiro holds press conferences and plays whack-a-mole with rate hike requests, the fundamental problem compounds. Threatening grid operators and appointing “watchdogs” doesn’t put one dollar back in Pennsylvanian families’ pockets. It’s a press release masquerading as a plan, engineered for headlines not results. That’s because we have a governor with one eye on Harrisburg and the other on a future presidential run.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity gets it. On day one, she pledges to lift the moratorium on new drilling sites, call a special session to fast-track energy permits, and in her words, “drill and frack our way out” of Pennsylvania’s fiscal hole. That’s not recklessness. That’s leadership. It’s the kind of no-nonsense energy policy that built this state and can ultimately save it.

Pennsylvania doesn’t have an energy crisis because it lacks resources. We have an energy crisis because we’ve had leadership that talks affordability while making production harder, slower, and more expensive at every turn. Sounds counterintuitive right?

“Drill, baby, drill” isn’t just a slogan. For Pennsylvania, it’s a lifeline, and Harrisburg keeps cutting it.

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