Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The state budget approved by lawmakers in Albany over the weekend does not contain new proposals regarding energy requirements, including all electric requirements on new builds.
Some state lawmakers and one utilities leader have responded with relief.
"I think it's good news for Western New Yorkers," said Donna DeCarolis, President of National Fuel Gas Distribution.
That's because there were some proposals that would have had a profound impact on their future energy usage.
"One would have removed the right that existing customers have now for ongoing natural gas service. We, as a gas utility, have an obligation to provide gas service to our existing customers. Customers have the right to receive that, and that would have been removed from the public service law," said DeCarolis. "I think the other thing that was really key is, it would have allowed the state through the Public Service Commission, the authority to discontinue supplying natural gas to consumers, requiring us to discontinue it if it was deemed not consistent with the climate law that was passed in 2019."
DeCarolis says the New York Public Service Commission is already looking at how to transition the natural gas delivery system to meet the requirements of the 2019 climate law.
"These are things that are being looked at already through the regulatory process . And I think doing major policy shifts in a budget process is not always going to be the best approach for consumers," she said.
State Sen. George Borrello (R) shares DeCarolis' feelings.
"I'm certainly relieved to see that," said Borrello in an interview with WBEN. "This is obviously something that's very important here in Western New York, which is, obviously I think, in many cases, life and death for people in Western New York, but also the affordability aspect of of us being able to use natural gas."
Borrello says you may have noticed something from his debate with bill sponsor Liz Krueger.
"Good government groups did a comparison of the questions that we asked him to debate, her answers, and the fact that her answers were not truthful and why. So I think Democrats talk about climate change and what they're going to do, but they didn't they want to deny the fact that they're trying to cancel reliable forms of energy, like natural gas. So that dishonesty was called out in the in this process," Borrello noted.
Borrello adds while Democrats may be hurting from this in an election year, it could come up again next year.
State Sen. Sean Ryan (D) told Joe Beamer on WBEN's "Hardline" this past Sunday nothing is set in stone when it comes to dates.
"Everything's movable. We've put together an aggressive plan to help decarbonize New York State," says Ryan. He says the federal government can't get its act together, so the states are trying to do their thing.
He says the federal government can't get its act together, so the states are trying to do their thing.
Ryan adds businesses are discussing the proposals too.
"Sumitomo was up in Albany last week talking about their long-term needs, and also for the need just to have certainty. That's a big plant, several thousand employees. They don't make decisions based on the year or two out, they make them on 20 years out," Ryan said. "They really drove home the point of we need to stick with goals and not change them and make them sooner."
New York's climate law requires the state to largely phase out fossil fuels by 2050.
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