The Peru Gazette

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced investments in energy affordability, clean and efficient buildings, clean air, and clean water, as part of the 2023 State of the State. The proposal will create the Energy Affordability Guarantee to ensure participating New Yorkers never pay more than six percent of their incomes on electricity. Governor Hochul also announced $200 million in relief for utility bills for up to 800,000 New York households earning under $75,000 a year that are not currently eligible for the State’s current utility discount program. Additionally, Governor Hochul announced an ambitious package of building decarbonization initiatives, including for zero-emission new construction and the phase out of the sale of new fossil fuel heating equipment. This announcement also includes $500 million in clean water funding, coupled with the creation of Community Assistance Teams to help disadvantaged communities access financial assistance.

“New York State is leading by example and setting in motion a bold agenda to promote energy affordability, reduce emissions, and invest in clean air and water,” Governor Hochul said. “The first-in-the-nation Energy Affordability Guarantee will help hardworking families as we implement the nation’s most ambitious climate plans and chart a path to a cleaner, healthier New York for future generations.”

Addressing Energy Affordability
In addition to advancing an economywide Cap-and-Invest-Program that supports universal rebates to consumers, Governor Hochul is proposing a series of policies to insulate our most vulnerable households from rising energy prices while advancing the transition to lower emissions. Actions include:

• Providing $200 million in relief for high electric bills. New York State will provide a credit to approximately 800,000 households that make under $75,000 to help pay burdensome electric bills.
• Pairing affordability support with modernizing low-income homes through EmPower Plus Pilot. EmPower Plus will help 20,000 low-income families improve their homes by adding insulation, upgrading to energy efficient appliances, and switching from polluting fossil fuel heating to clean, efficient electric alternatives. Homes that qualify through the EmPower Plus program are also eligible for the Energy Affordability Guarantee when they fully electrify. This first-in-the-nation pilot program will ensure participating families never pay more than six percent of their incomes on electricity. The current EmPower program served more than 14,000 homes in 2022 and EmPower Plus is expected to reach over 20,000 households within the next year through a combination of weatherization and electrification measures, drastically cutting energy use as well as delivering more than 17,000 metric tons of averted emissions – thanks to an infusion of $200 million in new State support.
• Directing the Low-Income Energy Task Force, composed of State agencies that administer energy affordability programs, to undertake immediate efforts to improve the alignment of existing programs and streamline administrative processes to increase access to these services and the impact of public dollars.

Investing in Clean Air and Reducing Emissions
To improve air quality and reduce emissions from various sectors, Governor Hochul is:

• Calling for zero-emission new construction, with no on-site fossil fuel combustion by 2025 for smaller buildings, and by 2028 for larger buildings.
• Proposing New York take a nation-leading stand to prohibit the sale of any new fossil fuel heating equipment by 2030 for smaller buildings and 2035 for larger buildings, along with related fossil fuel systems for all buildings.
• Advancing a system to assign letter grades to larger buildings statewide based on their energy usage to help building managers make informed choices to cut electricity bills and emissions.
• Building on New York’s nation-leading investments in transportation electrification by directing the Department of Public Service (DPS) to identify and remove the barriers to deploying charging infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles efficiently and timely.
• Directing the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) to source all facilities’ electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030 by generating its own electricity and prioritizing other green resources such as community solar or purchasing renewable energy from other local facilities.
• Creating an Office of Just Transition to centralize and direct State planning for a just transition; New York will be the first to advance a structure dedicated to the achievement of an economywide just transition for affected workers and communities that looks beyond the transition from coal and addresses the shift away from other fossil fuels.

Investing in Clean Water
Governor Hochul will invest $500 million in clean water funding to support water quality and infrastructure projects and protect public health. To leverage these investments and ensure ongoing coordination with local governments, Governor Hochul will develop Community Assistance Teams, which will provide proactive outreach to small, rural, and disadvantaged communities and help them access financial assistance to address their clean water infrastructure needs.

Building on the State’s previous actions to combat emerging contaminants like per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Governor Hochul will establish a program offering financial assistance to municipalities to investigate sources of contamination and remediate contaminated sites over the next five years. This new program will provide the resources New York communities need to remove these chemicals from our environment and protect clean water.

Reduce Waste and Invest in Local Recycling Programs
Solid waste is the fourth-largest contributor to climate-altering greenhouse gases. To protect communities and alleviate the burden on municipalities and taxpayers, Governor Hochul will propose the Waste Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, which shifts the responsibility of recycling to the producer and away from taxpayers. New York State will develop a new, more efficient waste reduction strategy that will increase recycling rates, save local governments money, create jobs, and protect the environment. The program will require that New York meet material-specific recycling rates, create binding post-consumer recycled content rates, and help ensure recycling is convenient for consumers.