Senator Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick & Fellow Senate Republicans Unveil Plan for Smart Energy Policies in New York

ALBANY, NY - New York State Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, members of the Senate Republican Conference, and statewide energy stakeholders today unveiled a package of smart energy policies to pursue a cleaner energy future. The plan puts affordability and reliability first for New York ratepayers, in sharp contrast to some of the radical proposals coming out of Albany.

"As a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee, I understand that we need clean energy alternatives in New York; however, we must institute those alternatives in a way that makes sense for the taxpayers of this state. New Yorkers are sick and tired of unfunded mandates coming down from Albany that masquerade as effective policymaking. As they stand, these energy-related proposals are radical and make no considerations for the financial burdens that New Yorkers are already facing - and this is a fact that unfortunately rings true for many of the proposals in this budget. Albany has no business mandating that New Yorkers make costly upgrades to their private property without having a proper plan in place to mitigate the costs they would incur in doing so. If we are to move towards a cleaner, greener world, we must do it in a way that is realistic, transparent, and affordable for all," said Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick.

Outlined in the Governor’s Executive Budget proposal, Albany’s radical climate agenda would completely prohibit the installation of natural gas, propane and fuel oil hookups in new and existing buildings no later than 2035. These devastating bans on reliable, affordable energy sources includes deadlines of:

• December 31, 2025 for new one family residential buildings of any height or multi-family residential buildings of three stories or fewer;
• December 31, 2028 for new multi-family residential buildings more than three stories or new commercial buildings;
• January 1, 2030 for existing one family residential buildings of any height or multi-family buildings of three stories or fewer; and
• January 1, 2035 for existing multi-family residential buildings more than three stories or commercial buildings.

In addition, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New York New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) would have authority establish an economy-wide “Cap and Invest” program for greenhouse gas emissions, which will mean new taxes and extra burdens on ratepayers and businesses.

To make matters worse, the Executive Budget’s “Public Renewables ‘Lite’” would give  authority to the New York Power Authority to plan, design, develop, finance, construct, own, operate, maintain, improve, alone or jointly with other entities, renewable energy generating projects. This would effectively allow for all-government takeovers of private sector business projects, and chart a dangerous path where state government becomes the only supplier of electricity in New York.

The New York Senate Republican Conference has proposed several affordable solutions in pursuing a cleaner energy future, such as:

• Independent cost studies and full transparency;
• Supporting diverse energy sources;
• Keep needed power supply online to ensure reliability of our grid; and
• Repealing and opposing and anti market mandates on consumers.