Why does the Northeast regularly experience higher energy and electricity prices in the winter months? It’s not just because we are notorious for our frigid, snowy winters. It’s because our regional energy infrastructure is insufficient to handle the demand we have, particularly for natural gas.

Thanks to an amazing energy revolution spurred by remarkable advancements in technology, America is now the world’s leading energy producer, with natural gas development helping to lead that charge. Thanks to these technological marvels, we’re now able to access natural gas in places that were previously beyond our reach. As a result, we’re producing more natural gas than ever before, helping us to become less reliant on foreign sources of energy.

But in New England, we haven’t experienced this energy revolution to the same extent as the rest of the country.

In fact, we’re still importing natural gas from places like Venezuela and Yemen to meet our demand. Every month, three to four tankers filled with liquid natural gas will dock at the Everett terminal near Boston. Boston Harbor is already seeing the most natural gas shipment traffic that it has in four years. What’s more, this natural gas that we’re importing is among the priciest in the world.

Think about that. Even though America is producing more natural gas than ever before — so much so that within a matter of years, we are expected to become a net-exporter of natural gas — the Northeast is still paying higher prices to import gas from overseas. And all because our energy infrastructure isn’t capable of bringing American natural gas to where it’s needed.

What sense does that make?

What we need now is a commitment from our political leaders to modernize our energy infrastructure, particularly in the Northeast.

Our energy infrastructure was built for a different age — an age when we were producing less energy than we are now, and were more reliant on energy imports to power our country. All that has changed with the shale energy revolution. And while the technology that has made it possible for us to extract natural gas from places we could reach before, the technology that supports our energy needs further down the line just isn’t fully up to the task.

We need to increase the capacity of our energy infrastructure that moves the natural gas from where it is extracted to where it is refined, and then ultimately to where it is delivered to homes and businesses across the country.

There are also benefits beyond just lower prices for energy and electricity. Forty-seven percent of homes are now using natural gas for heating and electricity. This transition we’ve made to a clean-burning energy source like natural gas is helping us to live healthier, better lives. Currently, carbon emissions are at 20-year lows. And we largely have natural gas to thank for that.

As a military veteran I have another view about energy as well. Producing more energy at home makes the nation more secure. For too long we have been wasting our blood and treasure in places that don’t deserve either. We don’t have to do that any longer.

We can’t continue to live in the past. It’s time for New England to fully embrace the energy revolution that is lowering costs and helping the environment across the country.

And that begins with a commitment to invest in the energy infrastructure that we need to lead us forward through the 21st century.