Ortt joins in opposition to NY Heat Act, saying it drives up energy costs

Press Release, State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt

Photo from NY State Senate Republican Conference: State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt speaks at a news conference on Wednesday in the State Capitol.

ALBANY – Members of the State Senate Republican Conference on Wednesday were joined by New Yorkers for Affordable Energy Executive Director Daniel Ortega at a Capitol press conference to call for a cost-benefit analysis of New York’s climate policies and to oppose a costly new mandate, the New York Heat Act.

Since Democrats passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2019, Republicans have demanded answers about its cost, expressed concerns about its mandates and questioned if its goals were realistic or achievable.

Further, the Senate Republican Conference has unanimously opposed new energy costs and mandates such as the NY Heat Act/Affordable Gas Transition Act. These policies will raise rates for at least 75 percent of New Yorkers, eliminate thousands of good paying union jobs and slap up to $50,000 in costs on homeowners who may be forced to transition from natural gas to electric heat.

“There is no better example of how glaringly out of touch Albany Democrats are than their extreme, unrealistic energy policies that will continue to hike costs for ratepayers and take reliable energy sources offline. The latest example is the NY Heat Act – the Senate passed it last year, and again yesterday, and the Senate and the Governor both have versions of this bad policy in their budgets,” Ortt said. “The bottom line, this is another extreme energy policy that will raise rates, eliminate jobs, limit access to a clean, reliable energy source. Not to mention it will force huge costs on homeowners to transition from natural gas to electric heat.”

New Yorkers are already struggling to pay high utility bills, largely driven by policies conceived by Democrats. Even before CLCPA was passed in 2019, 25 percent of the delivery charges on utility bills were made up of New York State taxes and fees.

Since then, things have only gotten worse. According to an analysis by the Empire Center for Public Policy of the first CLCPA report published by the Department of Public Service last summer, rates have already been driven upward by as much as 9.8 percent.

Passing the NY Heat Act would be a disaster for most ratepayers. While the bill caps utility costs for 25 percent of New Yorkers according to its sponsors, the money needed to continue to operate the grid will merely be picked out of the pockets of the 75 percent of those who do not receive any assistance. This is a classic political bait and switch, where a small group benefits while hard working middle-class families bear the burden. Further, the NY Heat Act would eliminate the “100-foot rule” for gas service that would lead to thousands of utility workers losing their jobs.

“We need common sense and not extreme climate ideology to lead the way,” said Daniel Ortega, executive director of New Yorkers for Affordable Energy. “New York is blessed with an abundance of resources. If we plan carefully, we can reduce emissions, protect jobs and keep costs reasonable for consumers. In order to get there, we must pause on our current course, appropriately measure the costs already imposed and stop passing new mandates like the New York Heat Act, which only make things worse.”