New York Assembly Must Prioritize Affordability, Put NY HEAT Act in Final Budget As Utilities Raise Rates Every Year

Albany, NY —

This week, the New York State Senate and Assembly released their one-house budget proposals. The Senate recognized the need to address New York’s affordability and climate crises and included the full NY HEAT Act in their budget. The Assembly included some provisions to support energy affordability for the short-term, but once again failed to include the NY HEAT Act to address energy affordability long-term. The NY HEAT Act is the clear solution to lowering energy bills, curbing future rate hikes, and saving the 1 in 4 families who already can’t afford their energy bills an average of $136 every single month.

“New Yorkers expect state lawmakers to address our unaffordability crisis and help lower their energy bills, which continue to rise every single year. Thankfully, the Senate has again recognized the need for action and put the full NY HEAT Act in their budget. But the Assembly is dragging their feet, not doing enough to help their constituents struggling to pay increasingly expensive energy bills. Despite having broad statewide support, the chamber has failed three years in a row to pass the NY HEAT Act. We urge the Assembly to get serious and join their colleagues in the Senate by prioritizing this crucial, long-term cost-saving legislation in the final budget,” said Jessica Azulay, Executive Director at Alliance for a Green Economy (AGREE) and Liz Moran, New York Policy Advocate at Earthjustice.

Background: Home Energy Affordable Transition Act (NY HEAT Act)

As of September 2024, approximately 1 in 7 households in New York was two months or more behind on their energy bills. This crisis is impacting more than 1.2 million families, who are collectively in debt more than $1.3 billion dollars to utilities. According to a recent report from AGREE, since 2022, every major gas utility in New York State has raised the cost of energy for their customers:

• For Con Edison customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by nearly $50 since 2022 – from $205 to $253.
• For National Grid customers in NYC, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by more than $60 between 2023 and 2026 – from $110 to $172. For National Grid customers in Long Island, the average monthly cost of gas heating will increase by nearly the same amount – from $105 to $165.
• For Central Hudson customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased more than $20 since 2022- from $138 to $157.
• For National Fuel Gas customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by nearly $15 – from $81 to $94 – since just 2023.

The Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, also known as the NY HEAT Act, will reduce the expansion of New York’s outdated and dangerous fracked gas system and save the 1 in 4 New Yorkers who struggle to pay their energy bills an average of $136 every month. The bill modernizes archaic state laws that force New Yorkers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year to subsidize new fracked gas hookups and pipelines. It would limit households’ energy burdens and would allow utilities to provide cheaper and clean heating alternatives at no additional c ost to customers – a win-win for New Yorkers and the environment.

The NY HEAT Act will also free New Yorkers from the gas mandate (also known as “the utility obligation to serve gas”), an antiquated state law that locks utilities, and consequently the vast majority of New Yorkers, into the dirty, expensive, aging gas system for heat. Because of the gas mandate, one home that wants to stay on the gas system can be the deciding factor for an entire neighborhood that would otherwise have the opportunity to receive cheaper, cleaner heating alternatives from their utility. The NY HEAT Act would require utilities to provide easy access to the most affordable and healthier heating options for their families.

According to a Siena Poll, New Yorkers agree by an overwhelming 58% to 26% that the legislature should pass the NY HEAT Act. Support for the NY HEAT Act is popular across party lines, with 67% of Democrats, 47% of Republicans, and 55% of independents agreeing it should pass. The bill is also popular with 60% of upstate voters, 55% of union households, and across income groups. 74% of Black voters and 70% of Latino voters also support the legislation. An even larger share, 51 – 17%, said that lawmakers did not do enough to improve the qu ality of life during last year’s legislative session.

State action against climate change is crucial as Trump takes office and vows to go all-in on fossil fuels. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and New Yorkers experienced wildfires, flooding, and tornadoes. The NY HEAT Act will help New York fight climate change and it will protect New Yorkers from an unpredictable Trump administration by helping to stabilize heat and energy prices.