Local-level officials make final push for climate bill - Spectrum News

Local-level officials make final push for climate bill

Last month, state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul could not reach an agreement in the $229 billion budget to align utility regulations with the sweeping goals of a climate change provision to reduce carbon emissions in the coming decades.

Now, as state lawmakers wrap up the legislative session this week, a final push is being made to pass the bill, known as the NY Heat Act, among its supporters.

The measure would place the climate change goals into the state's public service law and provide boosted oversight of gas utilities as the state seeks to meet the benchmarks. It would also cap energy bills for low and middle-income families at 6% of their income.

Opponents, however, have raised objections to the bill over the cost to utilities and the impact it could have on the power grid.

Advocates who support the legislation released a letter from 70 locally elected public officials in the state calling for the passage of the bill.

"Utility rate hikes that subsidize expanding gas service flies in the face of our climate goals and increases the financial burden on New York families," said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. "The NY HEAT act will advance our climate goals and keep costs down for New Yorkers, by capping utility bills at 6% of income for low and middle income families. Passing this act is an important step towards a just transition away from a fossil-fuel based economy."

Lawmakers and Hochul last month did agree to phasing out natural gas hookups in the construction of new homes and buildings in the state in the coming years. The broader measure, however, could have a wider-ranging impact on utilities and consumers, Republicans have warned.

"If you really want a greener economy and you want to move to electrification, there's a way to work with utilities and our produces to do that to create market incentives for it," state Sen. Mark Walczyk told Spectrum News 1 last month. "But moving things like this forward that are just going to be punitive and make things more expensive for New Yorkers is not the way to go."