By Hank Russell
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and Governor Kathy Hochul went at it again over the high energy prices, this time with Blakeman accusing the governor of prolonging a legal battle over the state’s electricity rates rather than siding with the ratepayers.
In January 2025, Assemblyman John Lemondes (R,C-Lafayette) filed a lawsuit against Hochul, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and two upstate utility companies, demanding transparency from the NYPA to show where the money from the rate payments goes to. According to CNYCentral, Lemondes said the rate increases are helping to fund “slush funds” for certain energy projects.
Lemondes also blasted Hochul for her “flip flop” on the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) after she realized that the state would not be able to meet the zero-emission mandate by 2040 and the 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 after championing the CLCPA for years.
A Hochul spokesperson at the time told CNYCentral that Lemondes was “playing political games” and “pushed his fellow Republicans in Congress to oppose a federal budget,” which would have provided funding for energy and the environment.
It also seems that ratepayers have also pushed back on the state’s proposed climate policies. The Empire Center for Public Policy recently published a poll conducted by Cygnal that showed 24% prioritize lower energy costs, 24% said reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a priority and 42% said they would support reducing emissions if it did not result in higher energy prices.
The poll also found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents oppose home-heating electrification, while 30% support it and six in 10 oppose suing energy companies over their contribution to climate change, as opposed to 21% who are in favor.
“New Yorkers suggested a better policy solution—let data centers build their own power sources—than the temporary ban that came out of Albany,” said Silenas. “Rather than banning data centers, Albany needs to remove restrictions on building more power plants. Data centers or no data centers, producing cheap power is the way to lower energy prices.”
Blakeman, who is running against Hochul in the race for governor, said she is challenging the lawsuit at the expense of the ratepayers, calling it “state-sponsored extortion” and saying the energy bills “look like mortgage payments.”
“Only Kathy Hochul could look at New Yorkers paying the highest electric bills in the country and decide the real crisis is the people trying to lower them,” Blakeman said. “When fed-up ratepayers took the Hochul Administration to court to block inflated utility rates, Hochul didn’t look for ways to lower costs. Instead, she sicced state lawyers on them to protect higher prices. Think about how insane that is: You pay the highest taxes in the nation, you pay outrageous electric bills because Kathy Hochul hiked utility rates 48 times, and then Hochul uses your own tax dollars to make sure your power bill stays sky-high.”
In response, Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki said, “Governor Hochul is fighting every single day to lower New Yorkers’ costs, cut their energy bills, and stand up to utility companies on behalf of New York families — Bruce Blakeman agrees with Trump on everything, even as he tries to kill critical energy projects to make power reliable and affordable for New York families.”