FRANK J. MRVAN: Northwest Indiana families deserve relief from rising energy costs

Across Northwest Indiana, families are opening their heating bills with anger and disbelief. As the Representative for Indiana’s First Congressional District, I hear it at the grocery store, at community meetings, and from small business owners trying to keep their doors open. The cost of keeping the heat on this winter has become an unnecessary financial strain for far too many individuals and households.

Hoosiers understand that utility rates are regulated at the state level by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, but they also understand that federal energy policy directly determines whether our country is increasing energy supply or limiting it.

The economics is undeniable that when supply increases, prices stabilize, and when supply is constrained, prices rise. That’s why it is particularly frustrating to know that Northwest Indiana was on the verge of implementing major energy projects that would have increased supply, supported jobs, and helped ease pressure on costs for consumers and manufacturers alike, but those projects were canceled before they could move forward.

The first was an estimated $8 billion hydrogen development project at the BP refinery in Whiting. This initiative had support from labor, industry, state leaders, and higher education partners. It represented exactly the kind of forward-looking energy innovation our region is built for, leveraging existing industrial infrastructure, while expanding new forms of energy production that would have strengthened the grid and created thousands of construction and permanent jobs.

The second was an $18 million sustainable aviation fuel blending project at the CITGO terminal in East Chicago. This project would have positioned our region as a leader in next-generation fuel production, reduced emissions, opened new markets for local businesses, and, importantly, freed up traditional energy supply for other uses.

For a region like ours, where manufacturing and heavy industry place enormous demand on electricity and energy inputs, expanding and diversifying supply is not a theoretical policy debate. It is a matter of reliability, affordability, and economic competitiveness. When projects like these stall, Northwest Indiana feels the consequences.

I chose to serve on the House Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee because I know how vital energy policy is to our region’s future. I strongly believe in an “all of the above” energy strategy, one that invests in renewables, hydrogen, and innovation while also maximizing the efficiency and output of coal, natural gas, and nuclear power that families and industries rely on today.

Congress can fund programs and conduct oversight, but we also depend on timely implementation and cooperation from the Administration to ensure projects move forward. That coordination has proven to be a challenge, but I remain committed to finding an agreeable path forward.

Northwest Indiana workers refine fuel, produce steel, and build the materials that power our nation forward, and we should do everything possible to ensure that we continue to lead the way in the next generation of energy production.

Families struggling with rising utility bills don’t care about political debates in Washington. They care about whether their homes are warm and whether they can afford to pay for it.

I will continue fighting for policies that expand energy supply, promote innovation, support good-paying jobs, and bring real cost relief to the people of Northwest Indiana.