Three New York Republican state senators urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to reconvene the Climate Action Council to take up review of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) as the governor has expressed interest in amending it.
According to a letter to the governor dated Thursday, state Sen. Mario Mattera, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee, and fellow Republican committee members Tom O’Mara and Mark Walczyk, want the Climate Action Council to issue a report after 30 days of reviewing the climate law, outlining policies that can be sent to the state Legislature before the end of session in June. The CLCPA mandates the state lower greenhouse gas emissions to 40% of 1990 levels by 2030, and by 85% by 2050.
“Since the passage of the CLCPA, electricity prices are up over 50% here in New York. This is not a coincidence. The mandates placed on utility companies have been borne by ratepayers, as was acknowledged in last year’s budget hearing by the Chair of the Public Service Commission, Rory Christian,” the letter reads. “These costs have become unbearable for our residents. State policy has driven up energy bills to the point where people are being forced to choose between keeping the lights on and affording everything else. It is time for the Council to reconvene and amend the CLCPA to account for economic realities.”
The Climate Action Council is a 22-member panel appointed by the governor and both houses of the Senate and Assembly.
The CLCPA has been the largest sticking point so far as state budget talks are about to begin among the Democratic-led Legislature. Gov. Hochul has floated changing the dates by which the state must meet certain goals, as well as changing the formula by which success is measured. Hochul has leaned heavily on a recent NYSERDA memo that forecast increased utility costs if the law isn’t changed.
Last week, state Sen. Liz Krueger, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, led 29 of 41 Democratic state senators in sending a letter to Hochul “categorically” rejecting climate law rollbacks, insisting the NYSERDA memo is flawed. The Assembly’s one-house budget proposal includes addressing utility rates in multiple ways, including proposing Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebates, or POWER checks.
“The CLCPA needs to reflect an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to energy policy. Renewable energy definitions need to consider sources such as nuclear and renewable natural gas. Peaker plants that provide critical reliability needs cannot be shuttered when grid capacity is already stretched thin. The State should emphasize building as much generation as possible so that we can drive down energy prices and climate policy must reflect that,” the GOP letter reads.