By Caroline Grass
October 30, 2023
A gas stovetop. (Raw Pixel/Public Domain)
The New York Home Energy Affordable Transition or HEAT Act has passed the state Senate but is stuck in the Assembly. Environmental activists want this act to pass to help move New York further away from fossil fuels and closer to reaching the goals of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act).
The Climate Act calls for a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2030 and at least 85% by 2050. If passed, the HEAT Act would do two main things. First, it would eliminate the 100-foot rule. Currently, utilities have to install new gas lines to connect customers within 100 feet of an existing gas main for free. According to reporting from WXXI News, the HEAT Act would eliminate $200 million in subsidies for New York's oil and gas industry.
The environmental group Rocky Mountain Institute reported that in 2021, almost 170,000 customers were added to the gas system and that ratepayers had $1 billion in added costs over five years. This elimination isn't unprecedented because in September of 2022, California became the first state to eliminate subsidies for gas line extensions with allowances ending this year. Colorado has also passed legislation to eliminate line extension subsidies by 2023.
The second thing the HEAT Act would do is cap utility bills at 6% of a household's income for low and moderate-income households. The New York League of Conservation Voters supports the passage of the HEAT Act and writes that lower-income New Yorkers spend an average of 10% of their income on utility bills meaning that families would save up to $75/month with the utility bill cap.
While the bill is stalled in the Assembly and is in committee, supporters continue to push for this legislation. This month, activists called on governor Kathy Hochul to include the act in the 2024 executive budget.
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