Magaziner Releases Plan to Lower Energy Costs for Rhode Islanders

WARWICK, R.I. - U.S. Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) announced his plan to bring down energy costs and make life more affordable for working people in Rhode Island.

Due to the misguided policies of the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans, Rhode Islanders are facing skyrocketing utility bills and high prices at the pump, with households spending an average of $557 more on gasoline since the start of the war in Iran. Gas prices in Rhode Island now average $4.36 per gallon, and diesel has climbed to $6.32 per gallon.

View or download photos from the event here.

"The number one thing I hear from Rhode Islanders is that life has become unaffordable," said Magaziner. "While big oil companies are making record profits, working people can barely afford to fill their tanks and keep the lights on. When Democrats are in the majority, we must come out of the gate fast with real plans to lower costs, and that is exactly what this agenda is about."

With winter approaching, many Rhode Islanders are also worried about whether they will be able to afford to heat their homes. Meanwhile, Exxon, Shell, and Chevron made $36.4 billion of profits in Quarter 2 of 2026 alone, including Chevron's highest quarterly earnings ever.

During the press conference, Magaziner outlined his agenda to lower energy costs, including:

• Ending price gouging by the big oil companies including by passing the Big Oil Windfall Profit Tax Act, which would tax big oil companies' excessive profits and return that money to consumers through quarterly rebates.
• Requiring data centers to pay for their own energy costs and grid upgrades, preventing those costs from being passed on to everyday ratepayers.
• Restoring clean energy tax credits that President Trump and Republicans in Congress cancelled, to bring more affordable, domestic power onto the grid.
• Enacting permitting reform to cut the red tape that has slowed the development of clean energy projects across the country and driven up costs for consumers.
• Ending the costly and unnecessary war in Iran, which is driving up the price of oil.