New Analysis Proves New York's Grid Can Handle All-Electric New Buildings

ALBANY, NY (11/12/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, the think tank Switchbox released a new report that proves New York State's energy grid has more than enough capacity to handle new all-electric buildings starting Jan 1, 2026, as required under the All-Electric Buildings Law (AEBL). Despite signing the All-Electric Buildings Law in 2023, Governor Hochul is considering stalling its January 1st start date.

Read the full report here.

"New York's electric grid can more than handle the All-Electric Building Law," said Juan-Pablo Velez, Executive Director at Switchbox. "Nearly all of the additional electricity use caused by the law would take place in winter, when the grid has plenty of spare capacity."

According to the report, the AEBL poses no significant risks to New York's energy grid because:

• AEBL will increase electricity use from buildings in winter, not summer. Virtually all new buildings already have air-conditioning, which is what causes summer electricity peaks.
• Unlike the summer months when energy use peaks due to high cooling demands, the state's energy grid has significant spare capacity during the winter - up to 23% remaining - to handle new all-electric buildings.
• With New York building about 45,000 new homes per year, the AEBL will account for only 7% of the winter peak growth forecasted by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO).

These findings additionally confirm last year's Synapse Energy Economics report, which also showed that New York's energy grid can support added load from all-electric buildings. Switchbox recently released another report that demonstrates the huge cost-savings for all-electric single-family homes: a total of $1,080 per year on average.

BACKGROUND

Passed in 2023, the All-Electric Buildings Law (AEBL) requires newly constructed single-family and low-rise buildings to be all-electric by 2026 with appliances like energy efficient heat pumps for heating, cooling, and hot water, and all remaining new construction to be fully-electric by 2029.

Despite signing the law, Governor Hochul is actively considering delaying its Jan 1st start date, threatening families with higher energy bills and further undermining New York's landmark Climate Law. Under the AEBL, families living in new all-electric homes could save an estimated $1,080 per year, on average, compared to homes fueled by gas and oil, according to a report from Switchbox. In rural parts of the state with no gas distribution network where homes instead burn oil, new homes equipped with heat pumps could save an average of $2,650 per year.

Research from other organizations shows that getting off fossil fuels and going all electric over the next 30 years is a net-positive jobs creator, creating more than 200,000 new jobs in the buildings sector. And it's better for our health: burning gas in our homes is highly polluting and causes severe respiratory illness. Data shows that 19 percent of childhood asthma in New York can be attributed to gas stoves, and low income and public housing residents who often live in small and poorly ventilated dwellings bear a disproportionate burden of the impacts.

About Switchbox:

An independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank, Switchbox exists to support New York's clean energy transition. With expertise in data science, economics, and energy modeling, our team brings evidence-based insight to state climate policy.

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