As production of natural gas increased, the price plummeted to its lowest level since 1999 and in 2016, retail gasoline prices hit their lowest point since 2004, corresponding to increased crude production. An abundance of cheap natural gas has largely replaced coal as a primary source of electricity generation, the column says.

While prices dropped, the column points out that residential electricity prices continued to climb over the last several years due to infrastructure investment and new requirements to generate electricity from renewable sources.

Finally, the increasing capacity of renewables is also factoring into the overall energy portfolio.

Interior Department spokesman Alex Hinson told the Post that Zinke is focused on rolling back Obama-era regulations. In defending Zinke’s statement, he said “while some energy sources may have been either low-cost, abundant, or reliable in recent years, very rarely have the sources been all three at once.”

In its Four Pinocchio grade, the Post says that Zinke’s statement “just doesn’t square with the current state of domestic energy production,” and the outlook on domestic energy production remains promising.