Labor cheers Hochul on energy approach

Politico

14-07-2025

Good morning and welcome to the weekly Monday edition of the New York & New Jersey Energy newsletter. We'll take a look at the week ahead and look back on what you may have missed last week.
LABOR CHEERS HOCHUL ENERGY APPROACH — POLITICO's Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul's 'all of the above' approach to meet New York's increasing energy needs has been slammed by environmental groups.
But the Democrat's recent embrace of new nuclear energy and growing openness to gas pipelines has exhilarated many in the labor movement — particularly those who have long worried the state's transition to clean energy would harm their members.
'We are appreciative of the fact that she's taking a second look at these issues,' said John Samuelsen, president of Transport Workers Union International, which represents over 160,000 workers including some in the utility industry.
'She's probably going to have a heart attack if she reads me saying that. It's probably the first positive thing I've said about Hochul publicly in years.'
The Democratic governor faces a potentially tough reelection fight next year, including a progressive primary challenge from her own lieutenant governor and two Republican members of Congress eyeing campaigns. Hochul wants to run on delivering affordability and energy costs are a key piece of that message, although environmentalists say the costs of nuclear and gas infrastructure will ultimately raise bills.
Her rhetoric aligns with a national shift among Democrats who are struggling to implement ambitious climate policies with near-term price tags for consumers.
Hochul's shift on energy policy includes continuing to subsidize renewables while also announcing plans to build a new nuclear plant in New York and expressing openness to gas pipelines and power plants. The moves largely align with what some labor unions, particularly in the energy sector, have wanted to see since passage of New York's 2019 climate law.
HARD ROAD ALONE: Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed a longtime talking point of New York Republicans and business groups on the state's climate law Friday — they have argued New York shouldn't bear the brunt of costs of climate action when the state's emissions are only a fraction of the global problem.
'We are very focused on making sure that we do our part, but other states have to play a role as well — you think about that — so one state cannot solve the climate crisis,' Hochul told reporters at an event on weather related disasters.
It's part of an ongoing rhetorical shift by Hochul, who has for years been raising concerns about the cost of the state's climate law for New York residents while saying she's still committed to making progress.
The governor earlier this month touted how she is 'slowing down' the climate law because of affordability concerns. On Friday, she blamed President Donald Trump, who took office months after her own officials acknowledged they wouldn't meet the near-term 2030 renewable goal.
'Those goals remain. They're statutory. I believe we'll hit many of them, especially our longer term ones,' Hochul said. 'Unfortunately, because of decisions made in Washington, I believe that there'll be a setback in some of the initiatives.'
The president's reconciliation bill included major cuts and quicker phase-outs for renewable energy tax credits.
'These goals were based on, predicated on, offshore wind and solar really emerging as primary energy sources, but I have to deal with the reality [of a] president that's hostile to those interests,' Hochul said. 'I'm just dealing in reality here.' — Marie J. French
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Here's what we're watching this week:
TUESDAY
— The New York Power Authority board of trustees audit committee meets, 8:30 a.m.
THURSDAY
— The Public Service Commission meets, 10:30 a.m.
Around New York
— Assistant forest ranger found dead after being missing for more than a week, prompting questions about DEC's system to keep track of rangers in the field.
— The New York Times examinesLocal Law 97 in the mayoral race.
— The Buffalo News highlights NYPA's Niagara Power Project investments.
— Onshore wind and solar developers are racing against the clock to start – and possibly finish – construction to secure federal tax credits, but many hurdles remain, New York Focus' Colin Kinniburgh reports. Under construction offshore wind projects aren't impacted, but solar and battery projects face challenges, Newsday's Mark Harrington reports.
— Possible mountain lion sighting in Rochester sparks fascination, concerns.
— The Gothamist highlights New York's Mesonet weather forecasting system.
Around New Jersey
— Soaring bills prompt questions from New Jersey residents.
— Rising heat raises pregnancy risks.
What you may have missed
GASSING UP ASSEMBLY DEMS: A climate advocacy group plans to run a digital campaign thanking Assembly Democrats who voted for the elimination of the '100-foot rule.' The measure, if Gov. Kathy Hochul signs it, would end subsidies for a portion of the cost of new gas hookups that are currently paid by all ratepayers. The change only affects residential buildings, and would make it more expensive for new or existing homes to connect to the natural gas system. It was an incremental step in environmentalists' efforts to transition the state off gas — and the only part of a more sweeping measure that garnered enough support in the Assembly to come to a vote.
Spring Street Climate Fund is spending five figures on the digital ads. The straightforward 'thank you' for 'ending the 100-foot rule: cleaner heat and lower bills' will run for all 83 Assembly Democrats who voted for the measure in the final days of session in Albany. Spring Street earlier in the session said they'd run ads against Assembly Democrats they viewed as holdouts against the broader gas transition measure, NY HEAT, if it was not included in the budget. That spurred backlash from some Assemblymembers, including one co-sponsor who took her name off the bill. That plan was dropped and Assembly Democrats held several conferences to discuss the measure. Ultimately, they passed the standalone elimination of the 100-foot rule.
'Assembly members from all over New York voted for a climate bill that will save money for utility customers, and their constituents should know that,' said John Raskin, president of Spring Street Climate Fund, in a statement. 'Holding lawmakers accountable isn't just about letting constituents know when their representatives are doing wrong. When lawmakers vote for bills that will help their constituents, people in their district need to know.'
Supporters of the 100-foot-rule measure say it's fair to make those hooking up to the system pay for the full cost of new pipeline and that the change will ultimately save ratepayers money.
Opponents of eliminating the 100-foot rule argue it could raise the cost of new homes and are planning their campaign to push Hochul to veto the bill. The governor previously backed the change, although she didn't include it in her budget proposal this year. Business groups, homebuilders, labor unions representing workers on the gas system, gas-only utility National Fuel Gas and other fossil fuel companies oppose eliminating the rule. New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, which is backed by National Fuel Gas and others, will pressure the governor to reject the measure. — Marie J. French
DEMOCRATS RETREAT ON CLIMATE — POLITICO's Jeremy B. White and Camille von Kaenel: Donald Trump is coming for California's signature climate policies — and so is California.
Stung by the party's sweeping losses in November and desperate to win back working-class voters, the Democratic Party is in retreat on climate change. Nowhere is that retrenchment more jarring than in the nation's most populous state, a longtime bastion of progressive politics on the environment.
NORTHEAST CARBON TRADING EXTENDED — POLITICO's Marie J. French: The nation's oldest cap-and-trade program will further ratchet down emissions from power plants in the Northeast under new targets agreed to by 10 states.
The planned updates to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, released earlier this month will reduce the cap for carbon emissions from the power sector by at least 60 percent in 2037 compared to the 2025 level. Environmental advocates praised the step forward after lengthy negotiations among the states.
The plan to extend the cap-and-trade program will continue emissions reductions since the bipartisan multistate agreement launched in 2009. Environmental advocates see it as evidence of crucial state leadership on climate as President Donald Trump rolls back federal initiatives.
'This new announcement … further demonstrates the critical role states can and will continue to play on climate and clean energy leadership, and despite the setbacks at the federal level, it's a prime example of how we can continue to make progress,' said Jackson Morris, the Natural Resources Defense Council's director of state power sector policy.
NUCLEAR COST CONCERNS — POLITICO's Debra Kahn: Nuclear power is a political winner — but not a money saver…
The hippies are dying out, and with them the memories of Shoreham, San Onofre, V.C. Summer, Three Mile Island and other nuclear plants that didn't pan out, suffered radiation leaks or otherwise closed before their time (although they live on, in many cases, in electric bills).
Amid a broader global flirtation with the technology, Democrats across the country, driven by demand projections as well as climate concerns, are now joining Republicans in pushing for a nuclear resurgence — and there hasn't been a partisan backlash.
BIG BATTERY BET: While major generation projects, like offshore wind farms, have stalled in New Jersey, the state is starting to bet big on batteries.
Clean energy advocates hope that by storing power when demand is down and it's cheaper, the state can shave down the price spikes in the PJM market.
Moira Cyphers, who directs the trade group's eastern state affairs for American Clean Power, which is backing the storage push, said there are 1.2 GW of near-term projects that could be ready to go in 2-4 years and 3.7 GW in later years, according to self-reported numbers from its members and a look at the PJM queue.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and the Legislature have both recently advanced major energy storage program. The BPU in June approved the first phase of what officials hope will be 2 GW by 2030, including 350 MW in projects awarded by the end of the year — goals that are in line with something Gov. Phil Murphy's administration has previously wanted. Even as the agency's clean energy money is being taken in Murphy's budget, the BPU has $125 million to spend on storage from the settlement with Orsted, though the wind industry thinks it shouldn't all be spent on batteries.
Lawmakers also sent Murphy a bill that requires the BPU to run a transmission-scale energy storage program with at least $60 million in annual incentives for developers and sets a target of 1 GW by the end of 2026. Its sponsors include the chairs of both energy-related committees in the Legislature, Assemblymember Wayne DeAngelo and Sen. Bob Smith.
Cyphers said Maryland is doing a similar push that comes as states try to 'stretch capacity on the grid.'
Right now there is about 100 MW of storage in New Jersey compared to much larger capacity in states with lots of wind and solar, like 2 GW in Arizona, 9 GW in Texas and 12 GW in California. — Ry Rivard
NY GOP CALLS FOR 'ENERGY EMERGENCY': New York Republican lawmakers want Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a state of emergency and suspend the state's 2019 climate law. Senate Republicans sent a letter to the governor on Thursday calling for immediate action 'in response to escalating reliability concerns surrounding our electric grid and the rapidly rising energy costs burdening New York ratepayers.' The letter says the state mandates for electrification and more renewables are raising energy bills and increasing strain on the grid. 'Legislation stemming from the [climate law], including mandates for electric vehicles, electric school buses, electric buildings, the repeal of the '100-foot rule,' and a Cap-and-Invest program risks overloading the grid at a time when demand is growing and reliable energy supply is increasingly constrained,' the letter states.
The letter notes the New York Independent System Operator issued energy warnings when operating reserves fell to lower than usual levels earlier this summer. The warnings were part of a new system set up this year and the NYISO indicated there was still enough energy to meet the state's needs. The grid operator has warned of tightening reliability margins statewide, although its latest long-term forecast did not find a shortfall.
The governor, at a diner in western New York earlier this month, said she was 'slowing down' the climate law's implementation. 'We cannot accomplish what those objectives were back before I became governor in a timeframe that's gonna not hurt ratepayers,' she said. 'Utility costs are a huge burden on families and I'll do whatever I can to relieve — alleviate that.'
Hochul has already indicated the state is not on track to meet the near-term goals in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Her administration has delayed enforcement of the state's electric vehicle sales mandate, punted indefinitely on implementing 'cap and invest' and signed a budget allowing more flexibility for school districts to electrify their fleets. The state has only reduced emissions by about 9.4 percent from 1990 levels as of the most recent data, and is not on track to reduce emissions by 40 percent until at least 2036. The climate law calls for hitting that level by 2030.
The Republicans' letter cites a high-end cost estimate from the state's climate plan as a 'conservative' estimate of the CLCPA's costs — about $340 billion in 2020 dollars. Hochul officials have previously said the societal benefits outweigh the costs, based on that modeling. The benefits include avoiding greenhouse gas emissions and health savings, which won't show up on people's utility bills. They also cite New York's high residential electricity rates, which are about 47 percent higher than the national average, according to federal data. New Yorkers use less electricity than residents of other states. A recently released NYSERDA analysis found New York households spend less than the national average on energy — including utilities and transportation.
'We further advocate for an 'all-of-the-above' energy policy that does not rely solely on wind and solar but also embraces dependable energy sources,' the Senate Republican letter says. Hochul has publicly embraced additional energy sources, including new nuclear energy and her administration has also expressed more openness to natural gas power plants in recent weeks.
'The Governor has made it clear she's taking an all-of-the-above approach to energy that prioritizes affordability, reliability, and sustainability,' said Ken Lovett, a spokesperson for Hochul. 'Rather than grandstanding, these legislators would be better off spending their time pushing back against the massive cuts their colleagues in Washington pushed through that will devastate their communities here in New York.'
Rollbacks of federal incentives for clean energy are likely to raise costs for New York ratepayers to achieve the state's climate goals. State analysts previously estimated the Inflation Reduction Act could lower New York's costs to achieve its targets by $70 billion or nearly 20 percent through 2050. Major components of that Biden-era legislation are being canceled or phased out more quickly under President Donald Trump's 'One Big Beautiful Bill.' NYSERDA hasn't yet completed an analysis of the impacts.
'NYSERDA is still reviewing the Federal Reconciliation Bill and its impacts, but the new law puts thousands of jobs at risk and could cut billions in funding and impact overall market momentum,' said authority spokesperson Kate Muller. 'This bill undermines New York State's demonstrated leadership in advancing clean energy technologies as a part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy including investments in wind, solar, hydroelectric, and nuclear power to create a clean, affordable, and reliable energy grid.'
Environmental advocates want to see Hochul step up investments in renewables and clean energy in response to Trump's cuts. NY Renews executive director Stephan Edel said New York should move forward with 'cap and invest,' a cap-and-trade style program to charge for pollution and invest the money in transitioning off fossil fuels. Edel said Hochul shouldn't leave that revenue source on the table. 'If we're losing the production tax credit, if we're losing federal incentives, the state either has to say we're just not going to make meaningful efforts or it has to put some money down,' he said. — Marie J. French