Senate Leads on NY HEAT Act, Assembly Nods Toward Energy Affordability

ALBANY, NY (03/13/2024) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, the New York State Senate and Assembly released their one-house budget proposals. In response, Lisa Marshall, Advocacy and Organizing Director for New Yorkers for Clean Power, a member organization of the Better Buildings New York coalition, issued the following statement:

"The Senate's incredible leadership on climate continues with the full NY HEAT Act in their one-house budget, including meaningful climate action and robust affordability provisions for struggling families. While we're encouraged to see the Assembly nod toward the energy affordability crisis, their flawed proposal is much weaker than what's laid out in the NY HEAT Act and ignores the climate crisis. The Assembly's plan will not adequately support the 1.4 million New York families who struggle to pay their energy bills. The People's House must prioritize the people over the greedy gas utilities charging more and more for the same dirty fracked gas that's already poisoning our air and accelerating deadly climate change. The NY HEAT Act has 76 co-sponsors in the Assembly – a majority – who understand that we can't keep pouring billions of dollars into our gas infrastructure and make the investments to deliver an affordable, clean energy future for New York. We now urge Speaker Heastie, the rest of the Assembly, and Governor Hochul to protect New York's most vulnerable communities – Black, Brown, and low-income New Yorkers – and ensure that the final state budget includes the full NY HEAT Act."

Background

The Assembly's budget provisions fall well short of the NY HEAT Act's holistic, practical, and well thought-out approach to addressing the energy affordability and climate crises. By failing to prevent wasteful, customer-funded investments totaling more than $150 billion in gas infrastructure, the Assembly's version makes it impossible for New York to meet its energy affordability and Climate Act targets. The Assembly's language also fails to permanently increase funding for the Public Service Commission's energy affordability program, includes an unworkable cap on bill support for electricity usage, and excludes many households that would otherwise be included under the full NY HEAT Act.

According to a recent Siena Poll, cost of living is the top issue facing most New Yorkers this election season. A previous Siena Poll found 8 in 10 New Yorkers statewide agree the high cost of living in New York is a major problem. Higher energy costs, caused by double-digit rate hikes from ConEd, National Grid, NYSEG, RG&E, CenHud, National Fuel Gas, and O&R, only exacerbate the cost of living problem.

The NY HEAT Act (A4592B / S2016B) will begin implementing the goal to limit the amount families pay for energy relative to their income.

According to a new statewide report from WIN Climate and NY Renews, 1 in 4 New Yorker households are energy-burdened, meaning they pay more than 6% of their annual income on energy bills. With the NY HEAT Act, the 25% of all households that are energy-burdened could see their bills cut nearly in half, saving an average of $136 each month.

The NY HEAT Act would also end more than $200 million in subsidies that New Yorkers pay every year to expand the gas system, accelerating fossil fuels-generated climate change that supercharges deadly storms, floods, and extreme heat and cold.

In January, Governor Hochul included key provisions of the NY HEAT Act, which stands for Home Energy Affordable Transition, in her Executive Budget proposal. The bill previously passed the NYS Senate during last year's session and for the first time now has majority support in the Assembly. Now, lawmakers have an unprecedented opportunity to pass legislation that would modernize New York's utility regulations and include critical language to save New Yorkers struggling to afford their heating bills more money for other crucial expenses.

About Better Buildings New York

BBNY is a coalition 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.