Rallies to focus attention on the New York Heat Act were held on Thursday. February 15 in Albany, Westchester and in front of the Ulster County office building on Fair Street in Kingston, where state senator Michelle Hinchey, assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha and county executive Jen Metzger met with supporters of the bill ahead of their press conference.
Portions of the bill that oppose investment in the expansion of natural-gas services and clear the way for the transition to renewable heat and cooling sources have been adopted in the governor’s budget.
“We cannot talk about a climate transition without talking about affordability,” said Shrestha. “One thing [Hochul’s budget] has not included is the six percent cap on the utility bills for low-income households.”
Shrestha says rising costs are the trend statewide, pointing to the recent rate increases granted to Con Edison in New York City and to upstate RG&E.
“Imagine being on a fixed income already paying more than six percent of your bill on energy, probably paying 50 percent of your income on housing and then in addition to that some on health care,” she said.
Metzger recalled the utilities’ work to upgrade their gas lines last summer with displeasure. “I can’t tell you how frustrating it was to sit up in my office last year and listen to the jackhammers every day,” she said, “as Central Hudson tore up the roads to replace aging gas pipelines with new gas pipelines that will last a half-century or more.”
These investments sink shiny new assets in the ground just as the state’s transition to renewable energy sources speeds up. “Climate and the environment has to be our number-one issue,” said Hinchey. “We have one planet that we have to save, and we have one chance to do what’s right. Without a sustainable future, without a planet, nothing else matters.”
The effects of climate change upon food production Hinchey’s seen has been worrisome. “We were seeing Florida underwater, California on fire and facing severe droughts and the Midwest, a direct result of poor climate policies that have driven what we do as a society and as a country for generations,” she said.
Rather than using natural gas for heating, proponents of renewable power promote the widespread adoption of heat pumps.
“Air conditioning by definition takes heat from in your home and puts it outside,” explained Scott Arnold of New Paltz-based Rycor, which sells heat pumps. “If you ever stood behind a window unit, you feel the heat blowing out of it. If you want to experience a heat pump real quick, take the window unit out of the window and turn it around.”
Arnold said heat outside in the air can be collected and brought inside even when it’s negative 20 degrees outside.
But heat pumps are powered by electricity. What happens to the heat if the power is knocked out in the middle of winter? During the ice storm of February 24, 2022, some Central Hudson customers found themselves without power for a week during freezing temperatures, cursing their electrically powered mini-split heat pumps.
“Most modern oil-burning heaters don’t work without power. “Central heat system for a house, ductwork or baseboard radiators,” said Arnold, “whether its fossil fuel, you know, oil, gas, propane — all those shut off with no power.”
The New York Heat Act does not establish a ban on the use of gas. It acknowledges that the transition from gas to alternative heating and cooling services will not happen overnight. This bill includes only new gas hookups.
Without proactive adoption of the bill’s policies, the county executive is not hopeful. “The planet could probably burn without seeing any responsible leadership from the utilities on climate,” said Metzger.
The sponsors of the bill have been joined by over 76 co-sponsors in the Assembly and 27 in the State Senate.
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