McCaughey Sues Hochul Over Electric Rate Hikes

0:00It's April 15th. Welcome to Hartford News today, powered by AI. Republican candidate for Connecticut Governor, Betsy McCogay, just filed a lawsuit in Manhattan against New York Governor Kathy Hokel. She's accusing Hokel of jacking up electric rates in Connecticut by blocking a natural gas pipeline from Pennsylvania. McCogay says this violates the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution, forcing folks in New England to pay way more for power. The pipeline, called the Constitution pipeline, got federal approvals over a decade ago, but got shot down by New York on water quality issues back in 2016 and again last year. Without it, Connecticut relies on pricier gas sources, and McCogay claims consumers are paying up to 300 percent more. She's suing as a Greenwich resident and rate payer hit by these high bills. Governor Ned Lamont's camp is calling it a political stunt tied to Donald Trump fans who push fossil fuels over renewables. Lamont's been talking with Hokel

1:00and even the Trump admin to boost natural gas supply while chasing lower rates and cutting emissions. His team stresses a mix of nuclear, gas, hydro and wind like the Revolution Wind Project. McCogay, a former New York lieutenant governor, now on Newsmax, picked her husband, a top lawyer, to file the suit in federal court. She's lagging in the GOP race against Bob Fazio and Aaron Stewart, who locked in public financing, while she short on small donations at about $62,000 so far. The pipeline company Williams says the region needs more collaboration for reliable energy. This bold move shows McCogay pushing leadership on energy costs ahead of the August primary, even if big players like Williams couldn't crack it, before setting up a real test for affordable power across state