by Anshul Gupta, Policy & Research Director at Kingston-based New Yorkers for Clean Power and a member of the leadership team of The Climate Reality Project’s New York State Coalition.
Local lawmakers recently joined advocates in Kingston to call for the passage of the NY Home Energy Affordable Transition (HEAT) Act in the upcoming state budget. This bill could provide relief from escalating home energy bills for millions of New Yorkers by directing the Public Service Commission to implement the state’s goal of limiting households’ energy burdens to 6 percent of earnings. It would also protect “natural” gas customers of all incomes from future price spirals.
Many New Yorkers are unaware that outdated state laws allow gas hookups worth thousands of dollars each to be given away at no or minimal cost to new customers. Existing customers are forced to pick up the tab that grows by more than $200 million each year, raising everyone’s bills. Luring new customers with free hookups adds unnecessary gas demand, which helps raise supply prices. With the US becoming the world’s largest exporter of liquified natural gas, the era of cheap gas is over.
“Natural” gas is mostly fracked methane – a climate super pollutant – and the utilities like Central Hudson claim that they are advancing the state’s climate goals by imposing massive rate hikes on their customers for replacing leak-prone pipes. That is just clever paltering though, because New York’s climate Scoping Plan emphatically recommends strategic planning and eventual downsizing of the gas network, not wastefully laying brand-new pipes at the cost of up to $6 million per mile.
Our laws allow the utilities a 9–10 percent return on all these investments at ratepayer expense, and the costs are added to gas bills based on an anticipated 60–80 years of service life that the new pipes will never see. Heating and cooking with gas isn’t just going out of style, it will also be out of compliance with New York’s climate law by 2050. However, utility customers would be forced to continue to pay for the utilities’ current investments for decades.
There’s even more trouble brewing for gas customers. As gas bills rise and heat pumps buoyed by federal and state incentives gain popularity, many of these customers are switching to the superior electric alternatives. This trend will leave fewer customers to bear the growing costs of the gas distribution network. The resulting bill hikes will set a feedback loop as more customers defect and further raise the costs for those whose circumstances prevent them from making the switch.
Sky-high bills won’t be the only reason why many New Yorkers would scramble to get off toxic fracked gas in the coming years. American Medical Association, American Lung Association, New York State Public Health Association, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and all state chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics deem gas stoves a health hazard. Almost 19 percent of all childhood asthma in New York can be attributed to gas stoves. In 2022, AARP warned its members of elevated dementia risk from exposure to pollution from gas stoves.
The NY HEAT Act not only has provisions to modernize New York’s utility laws and regulations to address long-term bill impacts, but would also free up funding to enable neighborhoods to choose modern safe and clean alternatives without undue financial hardship. The state is backing utility thermal networks (UTENs) for highly efficient district heating and cooling in suitable neighborhoods. Replacing leak-prone pipes with thermal energy conduits could build lasting energy infrastructure and offer a way for unionized workers with pipe skills to transition to the all-electric future. This bill would clear certain legal hurdles without which the UTENs cannot be implemented at scale.
The NY HEAT Act will put the brakes on wasteful investment of ratepayer dollars into new fracked gas pipes that earn handsome profits for gas utilities at the cost of our climate and pocketbooks. Not surprisingly, some utility companies and allied special interests are up in arms against this bill with fear mongering and misinformation to maintain their monopolistic grip on home heating.
Governor Hochul has included major provisions of this bill in her 2024 executive budget proposal, although her proposal lacks some key utility bill relief provisions. The full bill enjoys strong support in the state Senate. All eyes are now on the Assembly, where the bill is actually quite popular with 76 sponsors. Speaker Heastie and key committee chairs like Assemblymembers Zebrowski, Barrett, and Glick could play a decisive role in determining whether the bill is included in the final state budget. Will they choose long-term energy affordability, health, and well-being of New Yorkers over gas utility profits?
