After NYSEG & RG&E Hike Prices, Lawmakers & Advocates Demand Gov Hochul Pass NY HEAT to Protect NYers' Wallets

ALBANY, NY (10/27/2023) (readMedia)-- On Friday November 27, lawmakers and advocates held a virtual press conference demanding Governor Hochul stay true to her promise to prioritize energy affordability after allowing electric and gas utilities to increase rates. The NYS Public Service Commission recently approved huge NYSEG & RG&E rate hikes, which could cost customers up to $40 every month by 2025. But Governor Hochul can pass the NY HEAT Act to offer New Yorkers some relief.

Watch the press conference here.

Said Senator Lea Webb: The NY HEAT Act will provide financial relief for working families across the Southern Tier to ease the burden of the utility rate hikes just approved by the NYS Public Service Commission. By including the NY HEAT Act in her FY 2025 state budget, Governor Hochul can keep critical dollars in the pockets of New Yorkers. NY HEAT will save low-and middle-income families up to $75 per month, ensuring that their energy bills are capped at 6% of household income, a huge savings for families struggling to make ends meet and for our small businesses."

"With the NYSEG rate hikes approved, the burden of rising electric and gas costs is again being shifted to ratepayers. We have an environmental law that requires that New York reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and prioritize environmental justice disadvantaged communities. We are heading in the wrong direction that will make it harder to reach our goals. The NY Heat Act will set us back on the right path. It will economically hold harmless low and middle-income households so the burden of the transition and rising prices does not fall on the backs of the very communities that can least afford this cost. It will remove the current subsidies for natural gas buildout so that it is not artificially cheaper than renewable energy infrastructure alternatives. These are logical and practical steps that will ensure that we as a state are a part of the climate and social justice solutions instead of a continued part of the problem. We cannot afford inaction or delays. We need the NY HEAT Act in the Governor's Executive Budget," said Assembly Member Anna Kelles.

"I own a family home daycare, which means my livelihood and home are both at risk. If I can't afford utilities, then my business can't even operate to generate any money to provide for my family. I'm making a plea to Governor Hochul to pass the NY HEAT Act to relieve families like mine of these skyrocketing bills – $75 monthly savings will make a world of a difference for my family," said Tanisha Logan-Lattimore, Elmira parent and small business owner.

"Governor Hochul says energy affordability is a top priority, yet she's allowing utilities across the state to hike our rates. It's unacceptable, especially while New Yorkers are already being pummeled by the rising costs of climate change, including the loss of human life. Governor Hochul must include the NY HEAT Act in next year's budget to lower utility bills for struggling families, end subsidies for new gas pipelines, and fight climate change," said Amber Ruther, Organizer at Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE), a member group of the Better Buildings New York Coalition.

"The NYSEG and RG&E rate increases recently approved by the Public Service Commission will put enormous strain on upstate families and businesses. They will force difficult decisions over food, medication or staying warm, put more people in debt, make housing more unaffordable, and will strain small businesses still recovering from COVID. The New York HEAT Act will require the PSC to ensure low and middle income families are protected from paying more than 6% of their income for energy costs, while also making sure we invest in the infrastructure of the future, not sink our hard earned money into subsidizing fossil fuel infrastructure we no longer need. We urge Governor Hochul to stand with upstate families and include the NY HEAT Act in her budget," said Irene Weiser, Coordinator of Fossil Free Tompkins.

After an expensive summer made hotter, wetter and smokier by the climate crisis, NYSEG/RG&E are asking us to pay more each month in order to expand the gas infrastructure that is fueling this crisis. In fact, RG&E plans to spend some $70 million on gas pipes in our area during the next five years. And because of NY's public service law, these are pipes that myself and eventually my children will be paying for for decades. Our public service law must be changed to open the door to innovative clean energy alternatives to the gas system and that is one of the many things that the NY HEAT Act will do," said Clare Henrie, Director of Policy & Advocacy, Climate Solutions Accelerator.

According to a new Siena poll, 8 in 10 New Yorkers across party lines say the high cost of living in New York is a major problem. Rising gas and electric prices only make it worse:

• With incremental increases over the next three years, NYSEG customers will have to pay a whopping 62% more for electricity delivery by May 2025, and RG&E customers face a 37.4% electricity rate hike.
  • That's $30 more every month for the average NYSEG customer
  • And $20 more every month for the average RG&E customer
• On the gas front, NYSEG customers will pay 17.8% more for gas by 2025 and RG&E gas customers will pay 33.9% more for gas by 2025
  • That's $10 more every month for the average NYSEG customer
  • And $13 more every month for the average RG&E customers

The NY HEAT Act, which has 74 sponsors in the NYS Assembly and already passed in the NYS Senate, will reduce future rate increases and stop expansion of the fracked gas system to protect the climate. It will also save low and middle income New Yorkers up to $75/month on their utility bills. NY HEAT gets rid of the unfair 100-foot rule, which forces New York families to subsidize new gas hookups to the tune of $200 million every year while accelerating fossil fuel generated climate change that supercharges storms, turned the sky orange and made the air toxic from the wildfires this spring, and drives extreme heat. It will also allow utilities to redirect $150 billion that it will cost to complete planned gas pipe replacements over the next 20 years, and instead invest in neighborhood-scale building electrification that will free New Yorkers from volatile price spikes driven by reliance on fossil fuels.

About Better Buildings New York (BBNY)

BBNY is a network of organizations working for the equitable decarbonization of homes and buildings in New York State. We are committed to environmental justice and a just transition to all-electric homes and buildings.

*$75/month savings calculated using 9.3% average energy burden in the NYC metro area for low-income families and 200% of the federal poverty level income of $27,180 for a one person household.