Switchboard

Energy costs hit some households much harder than others. At the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, former Congressman Kendrick Meek and former Mayor Michael Nutter talk about energy affordability and rising utility bills with Congresswoman Joyce Beatty(D-OH-3), Congressman Steven Horsford, Neel Brown (D-NV-4) of the Progressive Policy Institute, and Reverend Dr. Cassius L. Rudolph. Beatty shares one number about the energy burden on Black families that shows how uneven those costs are, and she explains why she thinks both parties should take on this fight.

Horsford describes how families feel energy prices at home and explains why Nevada’s answer draws on more than one source of power. Brown makes an argument about climate policy and energy supply that some Democrats may not expect, and he holds up one major American city as a warning. Rudolph talks about what churches can do when people can’t pay their bills, and he gives elected officials pointed advice about where they should be listening. Meek also has a proud-father moment about a new candidate in the family.

In this episode:

• The energy burden gap facing Black households
• Why an all-of-the-above energy strategy with natural gas and renewables is gaining ground
• What happens when rising electricity demand meets tight family budgets
• What rural communities and faith leaders need from energy policy

Somebody is paying more than their share to keep the lights on, and these conversations name who.

Switchboard is brought to you by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. To learn more, visit naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org, or find us on Youtube @NaturalAllies.

Democrats haven’t lost a special election since November 2024, and former Governor Terry McAuliffe thinks this could be the party’s best year in two decades. He goes on the record with predictions for the House and the Senate and names the states he thinks Democrats can take, including one that may surprise you. He also identifies the moment he believes this election turned, and it came down to energy.

Former Senator Mary Landrieu, former Mayor Michael Nutter, and former Congressman Kendrick Meek aren’t ready to celebrate yet. Voters who are fed up with Trump still need a reason to vote for Democrats, they argue, and that reason has to show up on the electric bill and at the grocery store. Meek has some pointed advice for leaders who’ve been in Washington too long, and Landrieu explains why this election comes down to macaroni and cheese.

In this episode:

• McAuliffe’s forecast for the House, the Senate, and the statehouses
• Why a vote against Trump isn’t automatically a vote for Democrats
• What voters need to hear from Democrats before November
• The energy issue McAuliffe says changed the race

Voters already know what they’re against. This November, they want to hear what Democrats are for.

Switchboard is brought to you by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. To learn more, visit naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org, or find us on Youtube @NaturalAllies.

Permitting is often the slowest, most expensive, and most frustrating part of building anything in America, which is why it has become one of the few issues with real bipartisan momentum. Former Governor Terry McAuliffe, former Congressman Kendrick Meek, former Mayor Michael Nutter, and former Senator Mary Landrieu make the case that fixing it could lower energy costs, speed up projects, and create good-paying jobs.

Delays and lawsuits can make a project cost more to permit than to build, and the panel lays out what it would take to fix that. Senator Landrieu sits down with two senators from opposite parties who helped to shape the Senate deal. Senator Alan Armstrong (R-Okla.) explains how he got pipeline companies and renewable developers to speak with one voice. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) says much of the bill started as his own transmission bill. He also admits environmentalists and the oil and natural gas industry will both find plenty to be unhappy with.

In this episode:

• Why permitting can cost more than building
• How delays drive up energy bills and stall jobs
• How the bill would speed up transmission news while still giving landowners say
• Why both senators expect a Senate vote in November

Every year a project waits for a permit, somebody pays for it on their utility bill.

Switchboard is brought to you by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. To learn more, visit naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org, or find us on Youtube @NaturalAllies. 

Energy prices are turning into one of the clearest pocketbook issues in swing states and blue states alike, and this episode of Switchboard asks what voters actually want done about them. After Senator Mary Landrieu opens the episode, former Congressman Kendrick Meek, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, former Mayor Mike Nutter, and former Congressman Tim Ryan connect rising utility bills in Florida and Pennsylvania to the inflation and mortgage pressure voters already feel, and argue for an all-of-the-above strategy that keeps natural gas working alongside renewables.

Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky and Republican strategist Mike DuHaime then dig into the polling behind that argument. Support for an all-of-the-above approach runs broad, especially when natural gas is paired with renewables, and it holds among Democrats and independents. Roginsky and DuHaime explain why public opinion on energy is more practical than the loudest voices in the debate, and where political opponents can agree when the goal is keeping homes heated and bills under control.

In this episode:

• Polling on pairing natural gas with renewables, and why it holds with Democrats and independents
• Why voters are more practical about energy than the loudest voices in the debate
• Where Democrats and Republicans can agree on keeping energy costs down
• Why energy costs are becoming a defining issue in swing states and blue states
• How permitting reform could speed transmission lines and gas delivery without weakening environmental protections
• How rising utility bills stack on top of inflation and mortgage pressure

Voters are already ahead of the loudest voices in the energy debate. This panel thinks it's time the politicians caught up.

Switchboard is brought to you by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. To learn more, visit naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org, or find us on Youtube @NaturalAllies. 

America's energy policy has become increasingly politicized, with both parties championing only their energy courses of choice. This roundtable makes the case that the winning strategy is an all-of-the-above approach with renewables and natural gas working together, not either party’s talking points. Former Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) opens Switchboard alongside fellow Democratic Party officials, including former Mayor Mike Nutter (D-Philadelphia), former Congressman Kendrick Meek (D-FL), former Congressman Tim Ryan (D-OH), and former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-VA), to lay out what energy policy actually means for jobs and household bills.

Landrieu frames energy as a kitchen-table issue and a national security issue, then the group digs into what’s driving the strain: electrification, data centers, AI, and manufacturing spiking power demand faster than the grid and permitting process can keep up. McAuliffe points to his experiences as Governor when jobs were lost because of insufficient natural gas supplies and infrastructure. 

The argument here isn't left or right. It's whether the lights stay on and the bill stays affordable, while simultaneously balancing the important need to drive down emissions.

Switchboard is brought to you by Natural Allies for a Clean Energy Future. To learn more, visit naturalalliesforcleanenergy.org, or find us on Youtube @NaturalAllies. 

For years, some corners of the Democratic Party have demanded leaders embrace an aggressive zero-carbon-only future, and the result is a power grid that is now straining under new demand, continued reliance on the highest emitting fuels, and rising costs. Switchboard is where five Democratic leaders discuss how more practical “all of the above” energy positions are both good policy and good politics. Former U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, former Mayor Michael Nutter, and former Congressmen Tim Ryan and Kendrick Meek share insights and laughs about the intersection of politics, energy and climate. Each episode pairs a roundtable with a one-on-one interview, bringing outside voices into the room to test the argument.