Senate Republicans Unveil Energy Package: Creating Lasting Affordable Energy For New York

New York State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt and Members of the Senate Republican Conference today unveiled the “Creating Lasting Affordable Energy for New York,” a comprehensive legislative package to ensure a clean, affordable energy future for all New Yorkers. 

 

This summer, critics have cited the failure of the Administration to meet benchmarks enacted under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA). Since the CLCPA has been on the books, Democrats have proved they have nothing to show for it except frustrated ratepayers and taxpayers, business organizations and even climate advocacy groups. Today, Senate Republicans are putting forward proposals to not only protect the environment, but also the pockets of our taxpayers.

These proposals come on the heels of the fifth anniversary of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act becoming law and the upcoming “Future Energy Economy Summit” in September. 

 

Senate Republicans' common sense package offers solutions to delay the CLCPA mandate, while providing relief to taxpayers, ensuring the reliability of the grid, and ensuring a diverse energy portfolio that will keep energy options affordable and accessible throughout New York State. 

“It’s ironic how five years after the implementation of the CLCPA, the billions of dollars spent, and the absolutely crushing utility hikes year after year, Governor Hochul just realized that now might be a good time to put some actual thought behind the Democrats’ energy policies. We welcome the Governor’s late arrival to the party and hope that she takes a look at the policies we have laid out here, as they will not only keep the lights on, but do so in a clean, affordable way that benefits all New Yorkers,” said Senator Mario Mattera, 2nd District, ranking member of the Senate Energy Committee.

"Since the CLCPA's approval in 2019, we've watched Albany Democrats move at world record speed to pile one unaffordable mandate on top of another unworkable mandate on top of the next unrealistic mandate desperately trying to inflict a zero-emissions economy on this entire state that will have zero impact on the climate. These actions will come with a devastating price tag and consequences for ratepayers and taxpayers, businesses and industries, school districts, farmers, and entire local economies. It has become clear that the current strategy is not realistic or achievable. It is not responsible or rational. There was no cost-benefit analysis, other than a "the sky is falling" proclamation. It lacks critical foresight, and it unreasonably risks energy grid reliability and affordability. The forthcoming reassessment and reexamination at least opens a long-overdue and desperately needed public discussion on the realities of the current strategy. Senate Republicans are putting forth a clean energy strategy that is focused on affordability, feasibility, and reliability," said Senator Tom O'Mara, 58th District.

 

“The evidence keeps mounting that CLCPA mandates are not only unworkable and unaffordable, but a very real threat to the reliability of our energy supply.  If Democrats keep blindly pushing forward with this disastrous plan, even as experts raise numerous red flags, it will be a catastrophe for our economy, businesses, municipalities and already over-burdened New Yorkers. With a more balanced approach that ensures broader energy options and ratepayer relief, our plan is the desperately needed course correction that will prevent New York from going over the CLCPA cliff,” said Senator George Borrello, 57th District.

 

“Our legislative package is about securing clean and affordable energy for every New Yorker, and we're committed to doing it the right way. Our proposals lower costs of the transition for New Yorkers seeking cleaner energy while putting local decision-making back in the hands of local municipalities. Our package finds the right balance—hitting our environmental goals to keep our communities strong and ensuring a clean and prosperous environment for future generations to come, ” stated Senator Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick, 9th District.

 

“The extreme policies mandated by Albany's CLCPA will make energy more expensive and less reliable when Hudson Valley residents need it most. My colleagues and I favor a balanced, common-sense approach that maximizes consumer choice and eliminates harmful mandates that drive up costs. For example, my Ratepayer Protection Tax Credit will directly assist households forced to pay up to an additional $1,600 each year to subsidize Albany's unrealistic goals and roll back job-killing taxes on local businesses. Keeping everyday New Yorkers' energy options affordable, reliable, and plentiful remains a top priority,” said Senator Rob Rolison, 39th District.

 

“Senate Democrats have lost sight of reliability, affordability and feasibility in their energy policy. I'm proud to be a member of a conference that's pushing real, balanced solutions, and I'm thrilled to introduce legislation to keep hydroelectric plants producing the affordable, clean energy we need to power our economy and protect our environment,” said Senator Jake Ashby, 43rd District. 

 

“High taxes, onerous energy costs, burdensome regulations and problematic policies such as the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act have forced hardworking New Yorkers to flee the state at an alarming rate. We need a plan that helps struggling taxpayers, families, business owners and communities – not one that imposes unrealistic and unreasonable mandates that only make things more difficult for those who stay in the state. This commonsense package of legislation that the Senate Republican Conference has unveiled today, which includes a bill I have sponsored, will provide much-needed relief to taxpayers and ratepayers, improve the reliability of the grid and ensure that the state has a diversified energy portfolio. Approaches such as this can help us to stop the exodus and build a stronger future for New York,” said Senator Joe Griffo, 53rd District. 

 

“A recent comptroller report made clear what my Senate Republican colleagues and I have been saying all along: the cost of implementing the CLCPA is already far beyond that which Democrat leaders have suggested it would be. There must be accountability and transparency, and I’m proud to sponsor legislation requiring a true cost-benefit analysis of these mandates. New Yorkers deserve reliable, affordable energy. With this legislation and the other pieces sponsored by my colleagues, we can make that a reality,” said Senator Dan Stec, 45th District.

 

Since Democrats passed the CLCPA in 2019, Republicans in the State Senate have demanded answers about its cost, expressed concerns about its mandates and questioned if its goals were realistic or achievable.

 

The Senate Republicans’ “Creating Lasting Affordable Energy for New York” legislative package includes proposals that would:

 

> Delay the implementation of the CLCPA mandates by ten years, giving the state time to develop a sustainable plan to build affordable, clean energy infrastructure and give state agencies more flexibility to adjust those time frames if the cost to New Yorkers is determined to be unaffordable while also considering the impact of the CLCPA’s compliance on reliable and affordable alternatives for heating and other services currently supplied by natural gas, including renewable natural gas and hydrogen;

 

> Create the “Ratepayer Relief Act” to determine the true cost of CLCPA mandates and provide relief in that amount to ratepayers, as well as cut existing taxes that will save ratepayers more than $100 million;

 

> Prevent the state from closing any power generation facility before new facilities come online and provide tax credits to homeowners for the purchase of backup power systems in the event of outages;

 

> Study the feasibility of bringing Indian Point back online and expand investment into alternative energy options;

 

> Encourage the use of solar by expanding the residential solar energy credit to give homeowners up to an additional five thousand dollars to install solar, provides a new solar STAR credit for communities that build small to midsize solar projects, and re-establishes local control over the siting of major renewable energy projects;

 

> Establish a commission to evaluate the impact of grid electrification on the safety and reliability of heating systems in extreme winter weather incidents that cause power outages, and to develop strategies and best practices to maximize grid reliability during these events;

 

> Provide relief via a tax credit to hydroelectric plants to offset relicensing costs, which can potentially put them out of business, to allow them to continue to be a source of clean, reliable power to New Yorkers;

 

> Create the “Rural Energy Infrastructure Act of 2025” to provide a tax credit for individuals in underserved or unserved areas of the gas system to assist the buildout of natural gas infrastructure to help bring service to those areas; 

 

> Prohibit the state from mandating the electrification of personal vehicles; and 

 

> Establish the New York state hydrogen vehicle task force to examine another source of clean and affordable fuel.

 

“The Governor and the Legislature continue to make it more and more difficult for a family to remain in New York.  Every time the Legislature comes into session, New Yorkers pay more for basic necessities. This is exactly why New York is losing its population at the rate it is.  The only thing participants of Governor Hochul’s ‘Future Energy Economy Summit’ should be considering is how to reduce energy costs for New Yorkers, and they could do that by taking up these proposals,” concluded Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt, 62nd District.