Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman drilled Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday \u2014 saying green energy policies were \u201cbankrupting\u201d New Yorkers.<\/p>\n
Blakeman, joined by the state\u2019s last Republican Gov. George Pataki, vowed during a Washington Heights news conference to tap into the state\u2019s natural gas resources and slash energy bills if he becomes<\/a> governor.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to be able to supply our energy from this day going 100% with wind turbines and solar farms,\u201d Blakeman told reporters. \u201cIt will actually bankrupt New Yorkers if we allow it to continue over the next four years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s got to be a balanced approach to energy,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re sitting on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Yet Kathy Hochul wont let us extract that natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, center, speaks in Washington Heights on Oct. 20, 2026. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Pataki \u2014 who served as governor from 1995 to 2006 \u2014 skewering Hochul\u2019s policies.<\/p>\n \u201cSince I left, Albany has done three things: raise your taxes, raise your electric bill and make your streets less safe than they used to be,\u201d Pataki said. \u201cThat has got to change.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all for renewable energy, but it has got to be part of a package that doesn\u2019t drive up costs through the roof,\u201d Pataki added. \u201cIt can\u2019t be something that is based on ideology as opposed to the practicality of what the people need.\u201d<\/p>\n Blakeman has made energy costs a centerpiece<\/a> of his campaign, vowing to slash utility bills in half after New Yorkers have seen costs steadily increase since Hochul took office in 2021.<\/p>\n ConEd bills in the city climbed 27% between 2021 and 2025 \u2014 equating to the average New Yorker\u2019s bill climbing from $160 per month to $218.<\/p>\n In upstate New York the increases have been even worse \u2014 with NYSEG customers seeing their bills soar 46% from 2021 to 2025.<\/p>\n That equated to bills rising from about $80 per month to $147, data showed.<\/p>\n Blakeman and former New York Gov. George Pataki shake hands in Washington Heights on Tuesday. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Those increases \u2014 which Blakeman has blamed on green energy initiatives to build wind and solar farms \u2014 have landed New York with the third-highest energy bills in the country, trailing only Hawaii and California.<\/p>\n Blakeman\u2019s answer to the problem has been proposals to tap into New York\u2019s huge stores of natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, or \u201cfracking\u201d \u2014 an extraction method which has become controversial over fears it could pollute groundwater and cause other environmental issues.<\/p>\n Fracking was banned statewide in 2014 by former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with the ban codified in 2021 \u2014 meaning Blakeman would face a serious challenge bringing the practice<\/a> to New York even if he wins on Nov. 3.<\/p>\n But he hasn\u2019t backed down \u2014 his campaign on Tuesday pointed to a recent report from the think tank the Empire Center for Public Policy, which found natural gas could slash heating costs during the winter, dropping average New York prices to about $131 per month from October to March.<\/p>\n Electric heating \u2014 which most of the state depends on \u2014 would cost about $550 per month over the same, the report found.<\/p>\n Gov. Kathy Hochul holds a press conference in New York, Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026. Brian Zak\/NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWe should have an \u2018All of the above\u2019 attitude for energy. People are really suffering,\u201d Blakeman said. \u201cPeople are telling me wherever I go how expensive their utility bills are.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get back to common sense and having an energy policy that works for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n