In Brief:
State grid operator warns aging infrastructure and demand could cause energy shortages.
Steamfitters urge an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including natural gas.
Policy should protect reliability, affordability and union jobs.
New solutions include hydrogen, geothermal, battery storage and advanced nuclear.
New York is facing a startling, impending energy crisis.
I know this, because I have read the report: (https://www.nyiso.com/documents/20142/2223020/2025-Power-Trends.pdf) from our state’s grid operator, which warns that New York’s combination of aging power plants, weak transmission and rising demand are straining our energy system like never before.
I also know this because as the business manager of Steamfitters Local 638, (and a Steamfitter for 43 years myself) I represent over 8,700 working men and women in New York, including more than 3,300 on Long Island. Their livelihood is dependent on supplying the energy that provides heating and cooling, powers industry and keeps the lights on.
Local 638 members are some of the most highly skilled and well-trained experts in the construction and energy industry, building and maintaining the piping systems that literally power our region. We deeply believe the energy sector must create good-paying, union jobs; electric and gas should be affordable and reliable, and New York should be a leader in producing, creating and transporting as much of its own domestically produced energy as possible. That is why we have always advocated for an ‘all-of-the-above’ plan for energy that includes renewable energy and yes, natural gas.
For too long, our energy sector has been politicized at the expense of real-world, practical solutions like the NESE (Northeast Supply Enhancement) and Constitution pipelines that will supply more energy to some of our most vulnerable communities.
Whether New Yorkers realize it or not, natural gas is the largest source of power in New York. We all rely on it. Last summer, thousands in Brooklyn and Queens lost power during a heat wave because our utilities and grid provider could not produce enough power when it was needed the most. The Northeast needs these pipelines to supply more energy every day–not just the hottest and coldest ones–and we need serious policymakers who understand there doesn’t need to be a choice between the natural gas we rely on in the present, and the clean-energy future we are working toward.
All-of-the-above energy means innovation and new opportunities like clean hydrogen, biofuels, and battery storage, which can power advanced manufacturing and emerging industries that will revitalize communities statewide. It means clean energy: Thermal energy networks, geothermal power and new nuclear reactors that can provide clean, reliable and affordable power that is steady and predictable.
For years, we have discouraged our lawmakers and regulators from simply settling for bans, aspirations and goals: We need policy that creates more jobs than it threatens, which is why we have opposed gas bans, the repeal of the 100-foot law and the strict mandates of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, while supporting job-creating measures like the Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act, the $1 billion Sustainable Future fund and a Clean Fuel Standard for New York. We need a sensible energy plan that understands the reality of our current moment, protects jobs, and makes a more reliable and affordable present and future.
New York–and our communities right here on Long Island–are at a crossroads; I urge our public servants, elected officials and regulators to guide us toward a 21st century energy sector that will provide affordability; reliability; and good-paying, union jobs.
Robert Bartels Jr., is business manager of Steamfitters Local 638, which represents more than 8,700 members across New York State, including more than 3,300 on Long Island.