Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
Senator Mario Mattera (R-St. James), Ranking Member on the Energy and Telecommunications Committee, has long led the fight against what he calls “unrealistic” energy mandates from New York State.
Chief among his concerns is that of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), which has the goal of reducing emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 – 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. The State aims to get 70% of electricity from renewable sources; by 2040, all electricity from carbon-free sources like wind and solar.
The CLCPA led the All-Electric Buildings Act, which bans natural gas hookups and other fossil fuels in most new construction. The moratorium kicks in on December 31, 2025, for buildings seven stories or less in height. It will apply to all buildings by January 2029.
Mattera led a rally and press conference with a host of union laborers at Stony Brook University on Monday afternoon.
“Goals are good; mandates are bad,” said Mattera. “We need a plan, not a ban!”
He called on Governor Kathy Hochul (D) to repeal the mandates of the CLCPA, adding that “rates are already going up over 100% in areas.” He acknowledged State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s (D-Great Neck Plaza) recent audit showing that the state cannot reach the mandate.
Mattera also called for the State to approve the NESE and Constitution pipelines, which would fast-track natural gas production and remove carbon-emitting trucks from the highways that carry frozen natural gas from Pennsylvania. Mattera said that “seven pounds of CO2” are emitted “per mile per truck.”
“We need to avoid putting all our eggs in one basket by pushing all-electric when the State infrastructure is not ready. We need to examine every single source of energy, including retooling our existing power plants with carbon capture to protect our environment,” said Mattera. “We need green hydrogen and thermal energy.”
Mattera also took chagrin with the “bubble” that’s seemingly around New York, as the neighboring states all use fossil fuels, which help New York maintain its grid.
“We need to be self-sufficient and for common sense to guide our future, not political agendas.”
Mattera was joined by Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk), Steve Rhoads (R-Bellmore), Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow), and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R-Corning).
Stony Brook was Palmesano’s sixth and final stop on his statewide energy tour; Palmesano serves as Ranking Member on the Assembly Energy Committee.
“Governor Hochul is quick to blame the utilities for this, but fails to look in the mirror,” said Palmesano. “The draft energy plan has an all-of-the-above approach; continuing natural gas, nuclear, and fuel diversity.”
Palmesano mentioned a recent poll that found 71% of New Yorkers oppose a natural gas ban, including 76% of Independents. The balance between renewable and natural gas galvanized 74% of Democrats.
“New Yorkers want energy choice. Unfortunately, Governor Hochul and the Democrats in Albany disregard affordability, reliability, feasibility, safety, energy choice, fuel diversity, and, certainly, the impact on local labor.”
60% of New Yorkers heat their homes with natural gas and 40% of power generation comes from natural gas. Palmesano said that the current trajectory will “jeopardize the reliability of the grid, leading to dangerous and deadly blackouts, and continue our nation-leading out-migration of New York families, farmers, small businesses, and manufacturers.”
He added that in July 2023, the State Department of Public Service (PSC) approved $43 billion in future ratepayer increases to cover the green-energy mandates, with a quarter-trillion-dollar estimate for full implementation. The cap-and-invest plan would increase prices at the pump by 62 cents per gallon.
“The residential price of electricity in 2019 before the CLCPA was $0.17 per kilowatt hour (kWh),” said Palmesano. “Today, it is more than $0.25 per kWh – 40% higher than the national average. That’s unsustainable.”
As far as global emissions, Palmesano said that New York accounts for 0.4% of global emissions, as opposed to China, which represents 30%.
“China has a thousand coal plants and they’re building more each and every week.”
Senator Rhoads, Ranking Member on the Senate Labor Committee, took issue with overall spending, saying that New York is “number-one in the nation in both taxes and spending, the second-worst business climate according to Forbes, and has the fourth-highest cost of living in the entire country.”
Rhoads echoed the sentiments of “pumping the brakes” on solar and wind until a plan is developed.
“If you force homeowners to transition their natural gas stoves to electric, it’s an anticipated cost of $30,000-$40,000. Where does that money come from?” said Rhoads.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) spoke in favor of solar, but also a balance to not just rely on one source of energy.
“If our energy gets out of control in terms of cost, we’re going to see more people leave the state. I believe in all-of-the-above,” said Romaine.
Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer (D-North Babylon) wore his hat as the representative for Plumbing Contractors Association of Long Island, voicing support for the two natural gas pipelines.
“We need to make sure we have affordable, reliable options, including natural gas, solar, wind, and nuclear,” said Schaffer. “You’ll have both our support on the field as well as our financial support in the courtroom to make sure that we get a fair shake here with energy options for all.”
Mike Florio, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, said that these mandates would “layer more cost on top of the price of a home.”
“You’re pricing more and more people out of that market and making it harder for them to stay here,” said Florio. “We’ve found through polls that 49% of people don’t know that there’s an impending ban on natural gas and propane coming up. They’re going to be confused when they go to buy a home and find they have no choice and that it has to be all-electric.”
Eric Alexander, Executive Director for Vision Long Island, said that small businesses, particularly in downtowns, “can’t afford another bill.”
Rich Ellenbogen, an energy expert and Cornell alumnus, brought more statistics to the table. His factory in Westchester County has two solar arrays, along with a plan to decarbonize his business thirty years ago. His factory generates 75% of its electricity onsite using a combination of solar and high-efficiency gas generation.
“We have a carbon footprint 30-40% lower than ConEd’s,” said Ellenbogen. “I’m not pro-anything; I’m pro-what works. My home is geothermal; my bills have gone down 5% over the last two years. My daughter lives in the ConEd service area; her bills have gone up 14%.”
Ellenbogen predicted the blackouts in Spain and Portugal when they embraced energy goals similar to New York. He shared that the downstate grid in New York is 95% fossil fuel-driven, with just 5% renewable-driven.
“We’re operating at only 2,000 megawatts above the blackout line. With our aging power plants, they could fail at any given moment,” said Ellenbogen, sourcing numbers from the State. “LIPA wanted to retool the power plants at Northport, Port Jefferson, and Barrett in 2015. It would have greatly improved the environments around these plants and reduced emissions. Someone at the State said ‘no.’ Long Island doesn’t have the wind speeds during the summer to support the peak air conditioning usage.”
“Spain and Portugal had to rely on nuclear plants from France to restart. I’ve been warning people about this here since 2019.”
Suffolk County Comptroller John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), joined by Suffolk County Legislator Chad Lennon (C-Rocky Point) and a representative of Congressman Nick LaLota (R-Amityville), said that the laborers who would be affected by these goals would cut off a vital pathway for the middle class on Long Island.
“Utilities have become neglectful. The people of Suffolk County have paid $18 million for National Grid, $235 million for PSE&G,” said Kennedy.