WE ACT for Environmental Justice hosted an outreach event to constituents of Bronx Assemblymembers today on energy affordability and the NY HEAT Act.
The bill, which the Senate has passed multiple times but is held up by the Assembly, would help lower utility bills and transition New York off of fossil fuels.
“In the Bronx, families are paying the highest price for the state’s failure to fix our broken energy system. From sky-high bills, polluted air, and outdated infrastructure that puts our health and livelihoods at risk, we know full well what climate injustice looks like. The NY HEAT Act is how we right our wrongs. It’s how we stop paying for dirty pipelines and start investing in clean, affordable energy our communities have always deserved.” said Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia.
Assembly Members Dais, Jackson, and Septimo were also invited to co-sponsor the event to demonstrate their support for the NY HEAT Act and energy affordability.
At the event, constituents were able to sign up for energy assistance programs and a free home energy kit includes high efficiency LED light bulbs, extension cords, window sealant, and other home energy efficiency and weatherization accessories.
Energy assistance programs help struggling New Yorkers pay their energy bills, but New York State must do more to solve the energy affordability crisis — especially as the Trump administration threatens to slash these programs. The NY HEAT Act will help fill these gaps by doing away with unnecessary spending on the fracked gas system and limiting energy bills to 6% of a family’s income.
Background
As of September 2024, approximately 1 in 7 households in New York was two months or more behind on their energy bills. This crisis is impacting more than 1.2 million families, who are collectively in debt more than $1.3 billion dollars to utilities. According to a recent report from AGREE, since 2022, every major gas utility in New York State has raised the cost of energy for their customers:
- For Con Edison customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by nearly $50 since 2022 – from $205 to $253.
- For National Grid customers in NYC, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by more than $60 between 2023 and 2026 – from $110 to $172. For National Grid customers in Long Island, the average monthly cost of gas heating will increase by nearly the same amount – from $105 to $165.
- For Central Hudson customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased more than $20 since 2022- from $138 to $157.
- For National Fuel Gas customers, the average monthly cost of gas heating has increased by nearly $15 – from $81 to $94 – since just 2023.
The Home Energy Affordable Transition Act, also known as the NY HEAT Act, will reduce the expansion of New York’s outdated and dangerous fracked gas system and save the 1 in 4 New Yorkers who struggle to pay their energy bills an average of $136 every month. The bill modernizes archaic state laws that force New Yorkers to pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year to subsidize new fracked gas hookups and pipelines. It would limit households’ energy burdens and would allow utilities to provide cheaper and clean heating alternatives at no additional cost to customers – a win-win for New Yorkers and the environment.
The NY HEAT Act will also free New Yorkers from the gas mandate (also known as “the utility obligation to serve gas”), an antiquated state law that locks utilities, and consequently the vast majority of New Yorkers, into the dirty, expensive, aging gas system for heat. Because of the gas mandate, one home that wants to stay on the gas system can be the deciding factor for an entire neighborhood that would otherwise have the opportunity to receive cheaper, cleaner heating alternatives from their utility. The NY HEAT Act would require utilities to provide easy access to the most affordable and healthier heating options for their families.
According to a Siena Poll, New Yorkers agree by an overwhelming 58% to 26% that the legislature should pass the NY HEAT Act. Support for the NY HEAT Act is popular across party lines, with 67% of Democrats, 47% of Republicans, and 55% of independents agreeing it should pass. The bill is also popular with 60% of upstate voters, 55% of union households, and across income groups. 74% of Black voters and 70% of Latino voters also support the legislation. An even larger share, 51 – 17%, said that lawmakers did not do enough to improve the quality of life during last year’s legislative session.
State action against climate change is crucial as Trump takes office and vows to go all-in on fossil fuels. 2024 was the hottest year on record, and New Yorkers experienced wildfires, flooding, and tornadoes. The NY HEAT Act will help New York fight climate change and it will protect New Yorkers from an unpredictable Trump administration by helping to stabilize heat and energy prices.
WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan membership-based organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents participate meaningfully in the creation of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in Harlem, New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.
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