BUFFALO, N.Y. — The climate change debate here in New York State is heating up once again with Gov. Kathy Hochul apparently now backing off some of the expectations for the state’s plan to convert from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.

2 On You Side pressed the governor Tuesday on the 2109 climate change law and ratepayer affordability.

Governor Hochul turned up Tuesday to discuss affordability issues at a Hamburg restaurant as she faces an election race next year. 

We asked: “On affordability, you mentioned utility bills. Heard you say it, governor. Isn’t it true that ratepayers are paying for that because of the climate change law. We do know the the Public Service Commission (in February 2023) actually allowed for increased rates to be able to pay for some of that, connecting various …” 

The Governor responded, “This law goes back a number of years.” 

At the end of her long response on utility rates and energy strategy, there was this summation from Hochul: “You’re absolutely right. Utility costs are a huge burden of families, and I’ll do whatever I can to alleviate that.”

So in her response, there were these comments on the state’s “nation leading” and “aggressive” 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. It was the Albany response then to climate change with a push to get away from fossil fuels and instead go with renewable energy sources for production of electricity.

One of the state goals was up to be 70 percent renewable power by 2030. But a check of the dashboard for the Independent System Operator, which coordinates and monitors the state’s power grid, shows renewables are currently a relatively small portion of the current production mix.    

Governor Hochul said, “I had to take a closer look and realize we cannot reach those objectives there were, back before I became governor, in a time frame that’s going to not hurt ratepayers, so we’re slowing things down. I want to make sure people know that.”

And now nuclear power is a a bridge for the Governor’s strategy.

“We need all of the above for energy,” she said. “We’re going to have to do more than just rely upon wind and solar and thermal. We have a large percentage of our state powered by hydro power. We’re blessed to have that, but I want to lean into nuclear power. Build it.”

So we went to one of the architects of the state’s blueprint — a 2022 scoping report for climate law implementation — for his response on the governor’s comments on Hochul’s plan, announced last month, to build a new nuclear plant in the state. 

Cornell Professor Robert W. Howarth, who is a biogeochemist and environmental scientist, told us: “The New York Climate Law is one of the most progressive pieces out there when we passed it in 2019. It was held up as a model to the rest of the world as to how we should move ahead. We’re behind in reaching those targets, and I’m disappointed that the governor doesn’t see the urgency in pushing ahead to meet those targets. We really should be doing that.”

Regarding nuclear power, Howarth said: “Nuclear power is extremely expensive technology, extremely slow to deploy. The resources are just much better put into renewable technology and the heat pump technologies.”

Professor Howarth also pointed out that the higher cost of electricity could also be tied to the higher cost of natural gas, which, again, is a significant part of the current power production mix for the state power grid.  

We also reached out to the Albany-based Alliance for Clean Energy which sent this statement: “It’s important to note that clean energy projects are not eligible for ratepayer funds until they come online. Most clean energy projects are still in the permitting stage and thus are not the cause of rate increases. Looking at NYSEG and RG&E’s request for a rate increase this week, they cite storm cleanup and unpaid bills as the primary drivers. The state’s focus is on making progress toward our Climate Act goals in an affordable manner, which we applaud. Making demonstrable progress towards our climate goals means a more resilient, modern, and cleaner power grid for New Yorkers.”

That may contrast with statements from some commissioners of the New York Public Service Commission at a February 2023 meeting where a $4.4 Billion dollar overall utility project was voted on. There were also somewhat different commnents from Governor Hochul back then.    

Previously we spoke with National Grid Regional Manager Ken Kujawa, who we also asked about any ratepayer connection to the State’s Climate Law. He said “a lot of our transmission infrastructure was built in the first half of the 20th century. The needs of our customers have changed and they’re going be changing again as more and more technologies that are electrically driven get introduced.”  

National Grid and NYSEG must assist the state’s goal of hooking up those utility transmission lines to upstate renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and other technologies. It has been in place for hydro-power from Niagara Falls for decades.

They are also emphasizing reliability and storm response.

“Wind events, snow events here in Western New York seem to be much more common place. We need to build our systems so that we can minimize the impact of those weather events,” Kujawa said.

2 On Your Side asked: But are National Grid customers going to have to pay for this?

Kujawa responded: “I don’t think we have the numbers in place, but they will pay for it. It will impact customer bills, but it’s not going to be today. It’s going to be years out before these projects are completed, and then once they are, then the customers will see that impact on their bill.”

The State Public Service Commission staff did put extra costs for utility customers at 3 to 16 percent, and some commissioners say future upgrades may bring higher costs.  

Kujawa added: “Those investments that we’re seeing today are the start, and you will continue to see more investments in our infrastructure in the decades to come.”

We also heard from NYSEG previously with this comment “The Companies agree with the Public Service Commission that these high voltage transmission projects will support the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) and create good paying construction jobs across Upstate New York. In addition, although the NYPSC order references the total customer cost impacts, it does not quantify the benefits associated with creating pathways for renewable energy that could reduce supply costs, while supporting cleaner air and reduced reliance on fossil fuels. These critical projects are designed to provide our customers with excellent service, maintaining and modernizing the grid to improve reliability and resiliency, all while enabling the clean energy transition.”