{"id":137009,"date":"2026-02-18T04:06:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T04:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/137009\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T04:06:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T04:06:14","slug":"omara-lights-go-out-and-heat-shuts-off-in-homes-across-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/137009\/","title":{"rendered":"O’Mara: Lights go out and heat shuts off in homes across NY"},"content":{"rendered":"

Utility shut-offs reach record levels, over 400,000 homes in 2025<\/p>\n

From the Office of NY State Senator Tom O\u2019Mara<\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t see it, here\u2019s the lead paragraph from a February 5th article in the Rochester\u00a0Democrat & Chronicle, \u201cOver 400,000 households in New York had their gas or electric service shut off for failing to pay their bills last year, surpassing levels from the Great Recession, state records show.\u201d<\/p>\n

The article continues, \u201cYear-end totals tallied by the state Public Service Commission show the state\u2019s private utilities terminated gas or electric service for 408,898 households in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skyrocketing utility costs have been the No. 1 constituent concern that my office and legislative offices throughout this state have been fielding over the past two years. Numerous reports have documented and highlighted what\u2019s facing New York\u2019s ratepayers.<\/p>\n

Yet this recent\u00a0D&C\u00a0report puts an even more startling and urgent face on it. Again, \u201cOver 400,000 households in New York had their gas or electric service shut off for failing to pay their bills last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

It should hit home for every policymaker in this state about just how unaffordable (and devastating) this state has become for everyday New Yorkers, largely due to decisions, policies, and agendas coming out of Albany.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It should also make it even more clear to these same policymakers what many of us have been saying for years now: New York State\u2019s direction on energy under the \u201cClimate Leadership and Community Protection Act\u201d (CLCPA) of 2019 is not affordable, feasible, or reliable.<\/p>\n

In a further sign of the times \u2014 and of things to come if we continue down this road \u2014 on the night of February 7th, a village-wide power outage hit the residents of Watkins Glen in Schuyler County. The Schuyler County Sheriff\u2019s Office issued an emergency bulletin that the outage was \u201ccaused by an overload to the system due to extreme cold temperatures and increased use of electric heat.\u201d<\/p>\n

It all continues to be alarming, and it demands action.<\/p>\n

Last week at the Capitol, I joined my colleagues in the Senate Republican Minority Conference to, again, call for this action. We put forth a comprehensive package of legislation, \u201cAffordable Energy, Not Albany Mandates,\u201d aimed at addressing New York\u2019s skyrocketing energy costs. We noted that New Yorkers are currently weathering some of the highest energy rates in the nation. Residential electricity rates in New York are 50% higher than the national average and rose 7.6% in the past year, faster than the national average. Since the CLCPA\u2019s enactment, electricity rates in New York have increased 45%, leading New Yorkers to pay 30-40% higher rates than neighboring states like Pennsylvania, for example.<\/p>\n

Consequently, our conference continues to target state mandates and timelines under the CLCPA, carried forth by two successive Democrat governors and all-Democrat majorities in the State Legislature over the past seven years. Our alternative strategy aims to provide immediate ratepayer relief, enhance cost transparency, and offset costly mandates through legislative actions, including legislation I sponsor that would:<\/p>\n

require any surplus or unspent ratepayer funds remaining in the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority\u2019s (NYSERDA) Climate Investment Account or any unspent funds collected by utilities be sent back to ratepayers as a bill credit. This bill would result in lowering New Yorkers\u2019 utility bills by at least $2 billion at a time when New Yorkers are facing skyrocketing utility bills. NYSERDA\u2019s 2025 Financial Plan indicated the authority had $2.4 billion in unspent funds at the end of FY2025 (Senate Bill Number 8461); and<\/p>\n

enact the \u201cRatepayer Disclosure and Transparency Act\u201d to require a monthly report that includes the estimated or actual ratepayer costs and benefits of any mandated state energy program, including any CLCPA compliance costs (S.6412).<\/p>\n

Other highlights of our \u201cAffordable Energy, Not Albany Mandates\u201d plan include:<\/p>\n

S8463\u00a0provides a one-year utility bill tax and surcharge holiday and two-year green energy tax holiday, similar to the state\u2019s 2022 gas tax holiday, which was implemented when New Yorkers were facing $5-per-gallon at the pump. Government taxes and fees account for between 25 to 50% of a customer\u2019s utility bill and this proposal would provide meaningful and immediate relief to ratepayers.<\/p>\n

S7075\u00a0repeals the system benefit charge. The system benefit charge is a fee imposed on all ratepayers that provides money to NYSERDA and the state Public Service Commission (PSC). Repealing these fees would lower utility bills.<\/p>\n

S1031\u00a0directs the PSC and the State Comptroller to determine the cost of the CLCPA mandates for each ratepayer and to establish a credit for ratepayers and businesses to cover these costs.<\/p>\n

S8669\u00a0repeals the CLCPA and replaces it with the THRIVE Council \u2013 Thriving, Reliable, Inexpensive, Versatile Energy. The THRIVE Council would bring together industry experts to chart a realistic, achievable transition to cleaner energy, one that prioritizes affordability, grid reliability, and economic stability.<\/p>\n

S4748\u00a0repeals the All-Electric School Bus mandate.<\/p>\n

S1167\u00a0repeals the All-Electric Buildings Act mandate.<\/p>\n

S3652\u00a0repeals the Electric Vehicle mandate.<\/p>\n

Since the CLCPA\u2019s approval in 2019, we\u2019ve watched Albany Democrats move at record speed to pile one unfunded mandate on top of another unworkable policy on top of the next unrealistic directive desperately trying to inflict a zero-emissions economy on this entire state that will have zero impact on the climate. These actions are delivering a heavy price tag that will only get heavier as time goes on for ratepayers. The consequences for ratepayers and taxpayers, small businesses and manufacturers, school districts, farmers, and entire local economies will continue to be devastating. It has become clear that the current strategy is not realistic or achievable. It is not responsible or rational. There was no cost-benefit analysis. It lacks critical foresight and common sense, and it unreasonably risks energy grid reliability and affordability. New Yorkers need relief now. Our conference is promoting this package of actions to deliver much-needed relief to overburdened ratepayers and to put forth a clean energy strategy that is focused on affordability, feasibility, and reliability.<\/p>\n

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