With Just Five Days To Go, NYers Urging Governor Hochul To Sign 100-Foot Rule Repeal Before End of Year!

ALBANY, NY (12/15/2025) (readMedia)-- With just days until a final decision, New Yorkers are continuing to urge Governor Hochul to deliver relief for everyday people by signing S8417 / A8888, legislation that would end the costly "100-foot rule". Last week, advocates from every utility territory across the state highlighted their sky-high energy bills and urged the Governor to save them nearly $600 million on their energy bills every year, capping off a series of similar events in Westchester, Kingston, Rochester, Brooklyn and Queens. Legislation to repeal the 100-foot rule was sent to the Governor's desk last week, meaning she has until this Friday to sign it into law.

The rallies come as lawmakers, advocates, and utilities from every corner of New York continue to urge the Governor to sign the bill, including:

• New York City Mayor Eric Adams' administration, which became the latest to support the bill publicly last week.
• More than 50 state lawmakers, who sent a letter led by Assembly sponsor Jo Anne Simon and Senate sponsor Liz Krueger to Governor Hochul urging her to repeal the 100-foot rule, writing, "New Yorkers should not be paying millions to companies that are abusing outdated laws in order to bring in record profits."
• More than 60 local elected officials, who sent their own letter to the Governor, urging her to sign the bill to help lower their constituents' energy bills.
• The Public Utility Law Project of New York (PULP), which submitted testimony to the New York State Senate supporting the repeal and found it could save New Yorkers nearly $600 million on their energy bills every year.
• Utility Con Edison, which recently reaffirmed its support for repealing the 100-foot rule, stating, "Con Edison recognizes the need to advance the clean energy future, and we support the legislative repeal of the 100-foot rule entitlement."
• Over 30 business representatives and contractors, who sent a letter to the Governor stating, "By signing the 100-foot repeal bill, customers will not return to coal and oil. They will, however, be more incentivized to adopt better solutions for their homes, for their pocketbooks, and for the state of New York."
• More than 140 organizations, which signed onto a letter urging the Governor to repeal the mandate.
• Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado.

"The 100-foot rule is an outdated relic that allows utilities to increase their profits on our backs and do it by expanding the same dirty, fracked gas system that's hurting our climate. Getting rid of this handout to corporate utilities is a critical step toward both lowering New Yorkers' energy bills and holding those utilities accountable to working families struggling to get by. Thankfully, Albany lawmakers have acted. Governor Hochul can now finish the job and sign the only remaining bill to lower our energy bills into law before the end of the year," said Lisa Marshall, Advocacy and Organizing Director New Yorkers for Clean Power.

Already, 1 in 4 New Yorkers are struggling to afford their energy bills - while the Trump administration continues to cut clean energy and energy affordability programs that help families get by. The 100-foot rule is making this crisis worse by allowing utilities to charge New Yorkers more on their energy bills to expand an antiquated, polluting gas system that is already too expensive. Thankfully, Governor Hochul has said she is considering signing the bill - now she has a chance to deliver on her affordability commitment and provide relief for New Yorkers in need.

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 tethered to 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.

Even as more families struggle to afford their energy bills, utilities across the state are continuing to raise rates on New Yorkers so they can expand the gas system and bring in record profits. Repealing the 100-foot rule would remove the incentive for utilities to needlessly expand the gas system, which is preventing New York from reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and investing in cleaner, more affordable energy that benefit all New Yorkers.

As energy bills continue to rise across the country, other states are ending similar subsidies for gas utilities. Earlier this year, 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.