Advocates Launch Six-Figure Ad Buy To Demand Lawmakers Lower Bills for Families, Pass NY HEAT Act This Session

ALBANY, NY (01/08/2025) (readMedia)-- Advocates are expanding efforts to demand the Governor and Legislature pass the NY HEAT Act, launching a six-figure ad campaign that includes both newsletter sponsorships and digital ads. The campaign, part of a coordinated effort between the Renewable Heat Now coalition, New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), will urge lawmakers to address New York's affordability crisis by passing the NY HEAT Act.

The NY HEAT Act is a top-priority energy affordability and climate bill that will limit energy bills to 6% of a family's income and curb utility rate hikes by avoiding expensive and unnecessary pipeline spending – saving the families who need it most an average of $136/month.

View the digital ads from the Renewable Heat Now campaign here.

"Thanks to Governor Hochul's leadership last year, NY HEAT almost made it over the finish line-now is our chance to get it done. This transformative legislation will drive economic development, create thousands of jobs, and modernize our energy infrastructure with zero-emissions heating and cooling. By prioritizing the NY HEAT Act this year, the Governor and Legislature will build a cleaner, healthier New York while delivering critical energy affordability and climate solutions," said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters.

"We're in the midst of a record-breaking cold spell that's making it harder for millions of New Yorkers to pay their energy bills, which are already too expensive and rising every single year. It's long past time for New York leaders to pass policies that protect residents from unaffordable energy bills and from the fossil fuel companies that keep raising rates for their own profit. We can't expect the Trump Administration to offer national leadership on these fronts but we can turn to our leaders at home to make sure everyday essentials are affordable. New Yorkers need Gov. Kathy Hochul to include the NY HEAT Act in her Executive Budget to deliver energy savings for households most in need while helping families and businesses access efficient and modern energy solutions that eliminate climate pollution and reduce prices, once and for all," said Lisa Marshall, Advocacy & Organizing Director at New Yorkers for Clean Power, a member of the Renewable Heat Now campaign.

"Governor Hochul's leadership brought us closer than ever to passing the NY HEAT Act last year-now is the time to finish the job. This legislation will not only alleviate the financial burden of rising energy bills for families, but will also drive economic development and create thousands of good-paying jobs by allowing neighborhood-scale decarbonization projects like thermal energy networks to modernize New York's energy infrastructure. We urge the Governor and Legislature to prioritize NY HEAT and make New York a national leader in clean energy, economic justice, and public health," said Lisa Dix, New York Director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition.

Newsletter advertisements are running in various outlets, sponsored by the New York League of Conservation Voters and Building Decarbonization Coalition. Digital display ads paid for by Renewable Heat Now campaign are beginning this week.

Background

As of September 2024, approximately 1 in 7 households in New York was two months or more behind on their energy bills. This crisis is impacting more than 1.2 million families, who are collectively in debt more than $1.3 billion dollars to utilities And as winter for-profit gas corporations are projected to charge New Yorkers 18% more for heat, even though the price of gas itself is going down.

The Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, also known as the NY HEAT Act, will stop the expansion of New York's outdated and dangerous fracked gas system. The bill modernizes archaic state laws that force New Yorkers to pay billions of dollars each year to subsidize new fracked gas hookups and pipelines. It would limit households' energy burdens and would allow utilities to provide cheaper and clean heating alternatives at no additional cost to customers – a win-win for New Yorkers and the environment.

The NY HEAT Act is popular across party lines, with 67% of Democrats, 47% of Republicans, and 55% of Independents agreeing it should have passed. It was also popular with 60% of upstate voters, 55% of union households, and across income groups. 74% of Black voters and 70% of Latino voters also wanted it to pass.