As Capital Region Heating Bills Skyrocket, Lawmakers Urge Gov. Hochul to Sign 100 Ft Rule Repeal

ALBANY, NY (10/15/2025) (readMedia)-- This morning, the Albany Times Union reported that Capital Region residents will be hit with heating bills averaging $145/month this winter, up 10% from last year and following a summer of expensive utility bills. Capital Region Assemblymembers Phil Steck and Gabriella Romero issued the following statement in response:

"Every year, gas utilities raise prices to keep up their record profits as they needlessly expand the fracked gas system, and our constituents are stuck with the impossible choice between eating and heating. We can't keep letting this happen - that's why we passed a bill to repeal the 100 foot rule and save New Yorkers nearly $600 million/year on their energy bills. Governor Hochul shouldn't hesitate to sign this bill to put New Yorkers ahead of corporate utility profits."

Background

As the cost of building and maintaining our aging gas infrastructure continues to rise, utilities across the state have raised rates to pass those costs onto customers and keep us hooked on a fracked gas system that is already unaffordable. Since 2022, every major New York gas utility has raised costs on consumers, causing more than 1.2 million families to fall behind on their energy bills.

Today, 1 in 4 New York households cannot afford their energy bills, and according to an estimate from the Alliance for a Green Economy. At the same time, the Trump administration has cut LIHEAP, a crucial energy assistance program which New York relies on more than any other state, and suspended the federal Weatherization Assistance Program - both of which help fill the gaps and reduce energy costs for low-income households.

As energy bills continue to rise across the country, other states are considering ending similar subsidies for gas utilities. This summer, Massachusetts state regulators issued an order to end their own version of the 100-foot rule, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Maryland as the first states to repeal outdated gas mandates that cost ratepayers more money.