(Illustration by Round Icons on Unsplash)

MASSACHUSETTS HAS BEEN hit with one of the coldest, snowiest stretches of winter we have seen in years. For many families, the storm didn’t end when the snow stopped falling. It showed up in their next energy bill.

I’ve heard from residents and businesses across our state who are doing everything they can and are still struggling to keep up. Turning down the thermostat. Delaying other expenses for food, medical and childcare. Trying to make the numbers work. For seniors on fixed incomes, for young families, for small business owners, these costs add up fast.

And now, those costs are being driven by more than just extreme weather.

Global energy markets are increasingly unstable, and that instability is being made worse by President Trump’s policies. His decisions to block domestic wind and solar projects, cancel clean energy tax credits, and impose tariffs raise the cost of building energy infrastructure, create uncertainty in global energy supply and are driving up prices.

We are seeing that play out in real time. Trump’s war in Iran and disruptions in critical shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz are pushing up oil and gas prices worldwide. When supply is constrained and markets are volatile, costs rise everywhere, including here in Massachusetts.

That is why bringing in more energy to our state has been one of my top priorities as governor. Because in Massachusetts, when families are feeling the strain, we do not wait. We step up, we take action, and we lead.

I recently signed an executive order to do just that.

Our goal to achieve energy independence and lower your bills is clear: create 10 gigawatts of new energy resources and 5 gigawatts of new storage to power about 2 million homes and save Massachusetts residents $10 billion over the next decade.

We are taking a comprehensive, all-of-the-above approach to energy supply. That means moving quickly to build more American-made energy that is cheapest and fastest to deploy, like solar, while continuing to develop wind power that helps keep prices stable, especially during the winter months.

Our all-of-the-above strategy also means investing in ways to store energy so we can save power and use it when demand — and costs — are highest, helping bring bills down. It means advancing geothermal, which uses heat from beneath the earth to provide steady and reliable energy, and exploring nuclear power, which can generate large amounts of electricity around the clock without the price swings we see in global fuel markets.

And it means making sure we have the natural gas we need to keep homes warm and the system reliable.

Earlier this year, we supported more gas supply coming through the expanded Algonquin pipeline that will lower costs, while ensuring that ratepayers are not on the hook for building new infrastructure.

At the same time, we are making the system work better for customers.

That means giving people more control over when and how they use energy, including programs that help lower costs by shifting usage to cheaper times of day. It also means cutting red tape so new energy projects can get built faster and start delivering savings sooner.

This is not about choosing one source over another. It is a practical approach to building enough energy from different sources to lower costs, improve reliability, and create jobs. And it reflects something we can all agree on: Massachusetts needs more energy, and we need to build it faster and smarter.

But to fully deliver on this plan, we also need the right tools in place.

We’re continuing to act with urgency and working in partnership with the Legislature to pass our energy affordability bill and get it signed into law. Alongside this executive order, it will give us the tools we need to bring in more lower-cost energy, hold utilities accountable, and deliver real savings for families and businesses.

And we’re going to keep working on ways to lower bills right here and right now. We cut $180 million from bills this winter, we are fighting back against rate hikes, and supported projects like Vineyard Wind, which just finished construction and has been delivering power to hundreds of thousands of homes while creating thousands of new jobs.

Together, these actions will make a real difference. We can lower costs and move forward on our climate goals at the same time.

Massachusetts is not waiting on Washington or the global market to solve this for us. We are taking control to secure our energy future.

Maura Healey is governor of Massachusetts.