Dear Editor,
Energy costs are top of mind for most of us right now, for good reason. The prices we are paying to power our homes and cars have skyrocketed lately. I write to share more about how my colleagues and I in the State Legislature are working to lower energy costs, and to correct some misconceptions about the reasons for high prices.
Our biggest problem is our reliance on outdated, high-cost forms of energy. Even without subsidies, renewables – solar, wind, geothermal, and hydropower – are currently less expensive to produce than oil, natural gas and nuclear. Transitioning to renewables will also help protect us from price spikes like those caused by the war in Iran. Households and communities can also generate renewable energy, especially solar, ourselves; over time, this can reduce the leverage that investor-owned power generators have to raise prices. This year in our state budget, we passed the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Energy Act along with $200 million for NY-Sun to help more New Yorkers benefit from solar. We also passed the Solar Up Now New York (SUNNY) Act which, if signed, will enable more New Yorkers to produce energy at home using low-cost plug-in solar panels. I also sponsor several bills aimed at siting more solar over parking lots (A.10028) and along highways (bill number forthcoming), as well as accelerating the deployment of community solar projects (A.9087). I co-sponsor many other pieces of legislation aimed at getting more renewable energy into the grid.
During this year’s budget, we also passed reforms which will pressure utilities to focus on affordability. Utilities must now return excess profits to ratepayers and are prohibited from passing certain costs on to us, such as lobbying costs and political donations. Going forward, utilities requesting rate increases will be required to present a “budget-constrained” option with increases limited to the current rate of inflation. The State will also convene a new Residential Affordability Through Energy Savings (RATES) Commission to study rising utility costs and propose solutions.
Other reforms we passed this year target the Public Service Commission (PSC) itself. The PSC is now required to develop an energy affordability index to track the financial impact of energy rates on residential customers. The PSC can also install an independent affordability monitor to study and recommend changes at utility companies whose average customer spends more than 3% of their income on electricity service (or 6% on combined gas and electricity service). Moreover, with four of the current commissioners’ terms ending in February 2027, the Governor has an opportunity to appoint new commissioners with backgrounds in consumer protection. I will be advocating for this and encourage the public to join me.
Now let’s address some myths. Contrary to what some say on social media, the CLCPA and NYSERDA have a minor impact on your energy costs. The CLCPA has not been fully implemented, and was even rolled back during this year’s budget negotiations. NYSERDA is funded in part by the very small System Benefit Charge listed on your bill. People fearmongering about “green energy mandates” hiking our bills are not reading the numbers.
The idea that restarting Indian Point would lower bills relies on nostalgia, not fact. Here’s the truth: Entergy closed Indian Point because it was not able to compete on price with other sources of electricity. Con Ed declined to renew its last Indian Point contract for this reason. Nuclear remains the most expensive form of energy; reopening this plant would not lower costs but would increase safety risks for our area.
As an intervenor in the most recent Con Ed rate cases, I learned a lot about what is really driving high energy costs. I’m working hard to bring them down. You can learn more about this work and find resources to help with your bills by visiting my web page on this issue: https://bit.ly/LoweringUtilityCosts.
Sincerely,
Assemblymember Dana Levenberg
