NEW REPORT SHOWS WHY FRACKING COMPANY NATIONAL FUEL IS FIGHTING TO KEEP NYERS HOOKED ON GAS

BUFFALO, NY (05/30/2025) (readMedia)-- A new report from think tank Switchbox reveals that National Fuel Gas (NFG) is a major outlier among New York's utilities, generating the vast majority of its profits from fracking-related businesses in Pennsylvania rather than delivering energy to New York households. The report shows that NFG is actually one of the top 25 fracking companies nationwide, and comes as National Fuel is the sole utility still fighting against the NY HEAT Act, aiming to keep New Yorkers reliant on expensive, fracked gas.

Read the full report here.

"New York banned fracking in 2015 to protect the health and clean water of our communities. Now New York is working to move away from using fracked gas in our homes, again to protect the health and wellbeing of our communities. This report makes it obvious why National Fuel is opposing this transition, in particular why they are opposing the NY HEAT Act, which will reduce our reliance on the product they sell. We call on lawmakers to recognize National Fuel's self-interest for what it is, and stand up for families struggling to afford their energy bills by passing the NY HEAT Act before the end of this year's session," said Jessica Azulay, executive director of Alliance for a Green Economy.

"Nearly all the holding companies that own utilities in New York State distribute both electricity and gas. Public financial documents show that National Fuel Gas is the only one with no electricity business, and the only one that engages in gas fracking," said Juan-Pablo Velez, Executive Director at Switchbox. "In fact, with nearly 90% of its profits coming from fracking-related businesses, National Fuel Gas is accurately described as a fracking company first and foremost."

Major findings from the report:

• National Fuel is fundamentally a fracking business that derives most of its profits from extracting, storing, and transporting methane gas across state lines.
• Over the past three years, National Fuel generated nearly 90% of its profit from businesses associated with gas fracking. Just 10% derived from the gas utility business the company is commonly known for.
• Despite being one of New York's smallest gas distribution utilities, National Fuel is one of the country's bigger fracking companies: it ranks among the top 25 natural gas producers nationwide.
• This makes National Fuel a significant outlier among New York's utility-owning holding companies, since no others frack natural gas.
• National Fuel is also the only New York utility conglomerate that does not own an electric utility.

As New Yorkers struggle to pay their energy bills, National Fuel recently received approval from the New York Public Service Commission to raise typical residential gas delivery rates 40% over three years and greenlight $362 million of new investment in gas infrastructure. More than a quarter of Western New York households already can't afford their energy bills, and as of August 2024, over 54,000 National Fuel customers were in arrears and facing the threat of service shut-offs.

As the company raises rates on customers, it has also spent big to protect its profits and block the NY HEAT Act, legislation that would help New York transition away from gas and toward more affordable energy options. While nearly every other utility in the state also distributes gas, National Fuel Gas is the only one engaging in fracking, and the only one that continues to aggressively lobby against the NY HEAT Act, issuing several memos of opposition to the bill this year and maintaining a website in opposition of the bill.

Background

As of March 2025, approximately 1 in 8 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 almost $1.8 billion dollars to utilities.

The Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, also known as the NY HEAT Act, will reduce the expansion of New York's outdated and dangerous fracked gas system and save the 1 in 4 New Yorkers who most struggle to pay their energy bills an average of $136 every month. The bill modernizes archaic state laws that force New Yorkers to pay hundreds of millions 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 will also free New Yorkers from the gas mandate (also known as "the utility obligation to serve gas"), an antiquated state law that locks utilities, and consequently the vast majority of New Yorkers, into the dirty, expensive, aging gas system for heat. Because of the gas mandate, one home that wants to stay on the gas system can be the deciding factor for an entire neighborhood that would otherwise have the opportunity to receive cheaper, cleaner heating alternatives from their utility. The NY HEAT Act would require utilities to provide easy access to the most affordable and healthier heating options for their families.

According to a Siena Poll, New Yorkers agree by an overwhelming 58% to 26% that the legislature should pass the NY HEAT Act. Support for the NY HEAT Act is popular across party lines, with 67% of Democrats, 47% of Republicans, and 55% of independents agreeing it should pass. The bill is 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 support the legislation. An even larger share, 51 - 17%, said that lawmakers did not do enough to improve the quality of life during last year's legislative session.

State action against climate change is crucial as Trump takes office and vows to go all-in on fossil fuels. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and New Yorkers experienced wildfires, flooding, and tornadoes. The NY HEAT Act will help New York fight climate change and it will protect New Yorkers from an unpredictable Trump administration by helping to stabilize heat and energy prices.