New York Gov. Hohcul launches energy initiatives in state of the state address

In her state of the state address, New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced investments in energy affordability and clean and efficient buildings, among other initiatives.

Specifically, Hochul said the state will create the Energy Affordability Guarantee to ensure that participating New Yorkers never pay more than six percent of their incomes on electricity. Further, Hochul also announced $200 million in relief for utility bills for up to 800,000 New York households earning less than $75,000 a year that are not currently eligible for the State’s current utility discount program.

In addition, the governor announced a package of building decarbonization initiatives, including plans for zero-emission new construction and the phase-out of the sale of new fossil fuel heating equipment.

“The first-in-the-nation Energy Affordability Guarantee will help hardworking families as we implement the nation’s most ambitious climate plans and chart a path to a cleaner, healthier New York for future generations,” Hochul said.

Among the new initiatives, Hochul said the state will provide $200 million in relief for high electric bills for approximately 800,000 households that make under $75,000 to help pay electric bills. In addition, the state will modernize low-income homes through EmPower Plus Pilot, which will help 20,000 low-income families improve their homes by adding insulation, upgrading to energy efficient appliances, and switching to clean, efficient electric alternatives. It will also direct the Low-Income Energy Task Force, composed of State agencies that administer energy affordability programs, to undertake immediate efforts to improve the alignment of existing programs and streamline administrative processes to increase access to these services.

Further, Hochul is calling for zero-emission new construction, with no on-site fossil fuel combustion by 2025 for smaller buildings and by 2028 for larger buildings. She is also proposing to prohibit the sale of any new fossil fuel heating equipment by 2030 for smaller buildings and 2035 for larger buildings. In addition, she proposed advancing a system to assign letter grades to larger buildings statewide based on their energy usage to help building managers make informed choices to cut electricity bills and emissions.

Additionally, Hochul is directing the Department of Public Service (DPS) to identify and remove the barriers to deploying charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles efficiently and timely. She is also directing the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to source all facilities’ electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030. Finally, Hochul proposed the creation of the Office of Just Transition to centralize and direct state planning for a just transition.