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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy speaks during a press conference at LaGuardia Airport in New York City on Oct. 28, 2025. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Jan. 12 new modernization rules and policy changes that are expected to curb industry red tape and save American consumers approximately $600 million in annualized cost savings.
The DOT statement talks about two new rules and one enforcement policy. According to the first rule, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the DOT will modernize the agency’s class location regulations for gas transmission lines to account for technological advancements and latest safety practices.
The new rule lets operators avoid unnecessary pipeline replacements and other adjustments by implementing “modern, risk-based Integrity Management (IM) practices,” according to the DOT statement.
“PHMSA’s rulemaking is expected to save more than $461 million per year and reduce maintenance-related emissions by 1.3 billion cubic feet per year.”
Duffy said: “Under President [Donald] Trump’s leadership, we’re driving down energy costs by encouraging innovation and cutting unnecessary red tape. These commonsense changes will make day-to-day life more affordable for American families while continuing to maintain the highest levels of safety.”
The second rule change applies to transportation of fuel via cargo tanks, amending PHMSA’s Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). It allows new technologies to perform cargo tank inspections, reduces costs for hazardous materials transporters, and eliminates unnecessary regulatory burdens on fuel transportation while maintaining or increasing the level of safety provided in the HMR.
According to the DOT, these “commonsense changes will generate $145.3 million in annualized cost savings.”
Finally, PHMSA issued a new enforcement policy to provide expedited relief to consumers in regions affected by the national energy emergency declared by Trump, particularly the West Coast, Northeast, and Alaska.
Under the policy, regulated entities can obtain special permits to defer compliance activities if it does not create an unreasonable risk to public safety or the environment to ensure timely transportation of fuel to emergency-declared areas.
“Demand for American energy is growing, and today’s actions will reduce the cost of transporting it to consumers while prioritizing safety,” said PHMSA Administrator Paul Roberti.
The class location requirement changes will become effective 60 days from publication in the Federal Register, while the changes to the HMR will become effective 30 days from publication, said the statement.
Natural gas prices are higher during winter, owing to higher demand for natural gas “both directly for space heating and indirectly because natural gas is also the most prevalent source of electricity generation in the United States,” according to a Jan. 9 statement from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Record high production ensured low prices through the summer.
“Natural gas spot prices gradually rose in the final months of 2025 because of factors such as a polar vortex event in late November and early December, which briefly pushed prices above $5.00/MMBtu,” EIA said.
Based on EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook, “milder-than-normal weather in early 2026 and rising production will help moderate natural gas prices following the winter, with the Henry Hub price averaging about $4.00/MMBtu next year.”
