2024 report by a<\/a> pro-nuclear energy think tank, titled \u201cAutopsy of a Perfect Policy Failure: The Closure of Indian Point,\u201d said mothballing the plant has increased New York\u2019s reliance on volatile gas prices.<\/p>\nNatural gas contributed half of the state\u2019s electricity generation in 2023, up from 39% in 2017 when Indian Point was open, said the Foundation for Research on Equality Opportunity.<\/p>\n
The report noted that energy prices had spiked since Indian Point\u2019s closure.<\/p>\n
If Indian Point had remained operational, New York would have produced 8 fewer metric megatons of carbon dioxide or CO2 in 2022, the report said.<\/p>\n
Line graph showing inflation-adjusted monthly natural gas prices in New York from 2017 to 2023, with prices for 2022 being significantly higher than other years. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plant\u2019s closure complicates New York\u2019s decarbonization goals, especially downstate, which is reliant on natural gas to maintain grid reliability,\u201d the group added.<\/p>\n
A report commissioned by the Westchester County Chamber of Commerce in 2012 warned closing Indian Point would lead to higher electric prices, deteriorating air quality and job losses.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s make sure this never happens,\u201d John Ravitz, executive vice president of the Westchester Chamber, recalled saying at the time.<\/p>\n
The report, he said, fell on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
A report commissioned by the Westchester County Chamber of Commerce in 2012 warned closing Indian Point would lead to higher electric prices. Getty Images<\/p>\n
A dogged Cuomo rep defended the former governor\u2019s decision to close Indian Point, contending the plant\u2019s position on a fault-line made it a terror target.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a potential terror target,\u201d said Cuomo spokesman Richard Azzopardi. \u201cThere was no contingency plan to evacuate people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also said there were plans for other power sources, such as offshore wind, to make up for the loss of Indian Point.<\/p>\n
Stacked bar chart showing New York\u2019s Valley fuel mix for power generation on NYISO from 2017 to 2023. Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity<\/p>\n
\u201cThese projects fell behind schedule,\u201d Azzopardi said.<\/p>\n
Hochul, who was Cuomo\u2019s lieutenant governor during the phase-out of the Indian Point power plant, made clear she didn\u2019t want to share any blame.<\/p>\n
Her office provided a letter that Hochul sent to Westchester County Executive Kenneth Jenkins last fall distancing herself from the closure of Indian Point, though she opposes reopening a nuclear plant at the site.<\/p>\n
If Indian Point had remained operational, New York would have produced 8 fewer metric megatons of carbon dioxide or CO2 in 2022, the report said. John Angelillo\/UPI\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision to close and decommission Indian Pont preceded my administratjon and I believe was done in haste,\u201d Hochul said in a letter to Jenkins. Andrew H Walker\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
\u201cThe decision to close and decommission Indian Pont preceded my administratjon and I believe was done in haste,\u201d Hochul said in the Oct. 10, 2025 letter to Jenkins.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe lost 25 percent of the power that was going to New York City without having a plan B in place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She plans to bring hydro power from Quebec down to the city via transmission lines to make up for the power lost from Indian Point, rather than reopen a nuclear plant in Buchanan.<\/p>\n
One energy expert said Indian Point was not a panacea.<\/p>\n
The state would have had to put up millions of dollars in subsidies to keep Indian Point operational, like Albany does for the state\u2019s four upstate nuclear plants, said John Howard, a former chairman of the Public Service Commission.<\/p>\n
There were significant environmental and pollution issues at the site along the banks of the Hudson River, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"They nuked New Yorkers\u2019 energy bills. New York officials struggling to meet the state\u2019s ambitious green energy mandates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[80,1626,53884,7443,19475,426,57,9,24,55,54,286,56,63096,58],"class_list":["post-150853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-bruce-blakeman","tag-carbon-emissions","tag-climate-change","tag-green-energy","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-nuclear-power","tag-ny","tag-rob-astorino","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}