Heating our homes is only getting more expensive.

Filling up the tank? It costs an arm and a leg.

Running the equipment our farmers need to bring in the crops, or construction workers need to power their machines — that takes a lot of fuel, too.

Employers are seeing big spikes in their energy bills, and that makes a big difference — especially for small business owners who are still struggling to recover from government-mandated restrictions and closures in 2020 and early 2021.

Now is the absolute worst time to talk about shutting down another safe pipeline.

We’ve seen in other parts of the country what kind of impact that has on the cost and the availability of fuel, and the picture isn’t pretty.

Thankfully, Democrats and Republicans are almost entirely on the same page when it comes to Enbridge Inc.’s Line 5 here in Michigan. They support it, and they back construction of Michigan’s Great Lakes Tunnel to make it even safer.

Public polls show voters overwhelmingly back it, too. It’s not even close. And no wonder. When there are fuel shortages and price spikes, Michigan citizens like you and me are the ones footing the bill.

The headlines are everywhere, but you don’t have to read the news to know energy costs are through the roof as we enter the heating season. We feel it every time we fill up our tank or pay our utility bills.

According to the nonpartisan United States Energy Information Administration, residential heating costs are up 49% over this time last year. In fact, they’re at the highest level since 2011. The Wall Street Journal says prices are surging across the nation — particularly for rural residents. Prices in some regions are triple what they’ve been in the last two Octobers.

There is some worry among experts that shortages aren’t out of the question this winter.

And it’s not just propane. Natural gas prices are up 180%. Truck driver shortages are impacting fuel availability not just across the globe, but right here in the U.S.

If you drive, you’re already feeling the pinch at the pump. AAA reports that gas prices surged throughout October, with prices soaring above the $3 mark, more than $1.20 higher than this time a year ago.

Policymakers and politicians in Lansing are trying to prevent future power outages and energy shortages. They’re holding hearings and asking tough questions of energy providers. They’re mounting pressure campaigns in the press. They seem focused on driving down fuel costs and helping families keep the furnace running this winter.

It’s all enough to leave anyone scratching their head over efforts by the handful of extremists who are trying to push the state into a full-blown energy crisis by shutting down Line 5.

Line 5 safely delivers 540,000 barrels of light crude oil, light synthetic crude, and natural gas liquids every day. It delivers 55% of the propane used across the state daily (that’s over 300 million gallons per year) — not just in the Upper Peninsula. It’s been doing the job safely for more than six decades, and the bipartisan plan to build the state-of-the-art Great Lakes Tunnel deep below the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac will make it even safer.

What is the alternative?

To do the job of Line 5, it would take 2,100 tanker trucks a day driving the entire length of the state to make up for the lost volume if Line 5 closes — that includes the Mackinac Bridge!

Between pollution, the extra fuel to keep the trucks running, finding the people to drive them, let alone the effect on Michigan’s crumbling infrastructure, it seems crazy to even think about closing Line 5.

Given those realities, keeping Line 5 open and making it even safer is a no-brainer!

Staying warm this winter is already a lot more expensive. Let’s not make things worse. Keep Line 5 open.

Build Michigan’s Great Lakes Tunnel.

Amanda Fisher is assistant state director in Michigan of the National Federation of Independent Business.