Fact-check: Are Biden, Green New Deal legislators to blame for high energy costs?

Temperatures in Texas are rising amid a June heatwave, testing the state's power grid and driving up demand for electricity.

In a June 4 tweet, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Texans can blame their higher electric bills on supporters of the Green New Deal, a-yet-to-be-passed congressional plan touted as a strategy for tackling climate change.

"The impact of President Biden being beholden to the Green New Deal radicals in his party has electricity costs through the roof in Texas," Cruz wrote in his tweet.

He included a link to a Dallas Morning News article that tied electricity costs to the price of natural gas, which has been on the rise.

Texas accounts for 15% of the U.S. total natural gas consumption and is the country's top natural gas consumer, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration under the Department of Energy. In 2020, the amount of natural gas used for electricity generation was greatest in Texas compared to other states.

So, what (or who) exactly is to blame for sky-high electric bills? Cruz says the progressives who champion measures to reduce the impact of climate change are at fault, but energy experts say Russia's war on Ukraine is driving up the cost of natural gas, which in turn impacts electricity costs. Let's explore.

Biden's campaign promises

Michael Webber, University of Texas professor with research specializing in clean energy technology, said the article Cruz tweeted undercuts his claim, because it attributes rising electricity costs to the price of natural gas, with no mention of the Green New Deal.

Webber said the Green New Deal has not passed, so it has no influence over the current energy situation. The measure calls for the federal government to take steps to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Webber, who responded to Cruz's tweet online, called Cruz's claim "fundamentally flawed."