Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's setting up to be one of the more highly debated proposals between New York State Legislators in Albany, as discussions continue to mount with regards to the future proposal of banning natural gas.
The proposed bill, as part of Gov. Kathy Hochul's budget, calls for eventually prohibiting the installation of fossil fuel space and water heating equipment, including home heating systems that use natural gas. It also bans any supply, distribution, or delivery of fossil fuels for any purpose to new buildings.
There is an exception for the prohibition of appliances using natural gas, as gas stoves will not be included as part of this bill. However, some plumbing and heating professionals say having one may not be worth it if the ban goes through.
The purpose of the proposal is an attempt to help make New York an environmentally greener state, while also relying less on the need for fossil fuels.
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The proposed bill was crafted with support from Democrats in Albany, but the Republicans in the Legislature have attempted to push back hard on the proposal.
"I think there's been an entire misinformation campaign from the other side, and the facts have been maligned," said Sen. Tim Kennedy (D) on the proposed bill to ban natural gas. "No one's banning gas stoves, no one is taking anybody's gas stoves away, and anything to speak to that is just unfactual and untrue."
State Legislators on the other side of the table, though, don't see how their counterarguments regarding the issue is considered as misinformation or exaggeration.
"The bottom line is, without any real analysis, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are going to eliminate natural gas in New York State. They make absolutely no bones about that," said Sen. George Borrello (R). "So the question is the timing. Now they've adjusted the timing slightly, but if you're, for example, in economic development and you're trying to attract a new manufacturer to New York State, that manufacturer is essentially not gonna be able to build a new building using natural gas starting in 2025. Well, most projects like that take several years to develop and build.
"This has just been poorly thought out, it is a horrible idea, and in the end, it's going to have zero impact on climate change."
A finalized agreement for the New York State budget is due by April 1, but this proposal could certainly be seen as something holding up matters in Albany. Democrats in the state capital don't seem all too worried about a timeline, feeling as though talks will eventually cool down and a compromise on the matter will be reached.
"I expect that we're going to continue to move forward and strike a balance between making sure that people have the energy that they need to power their homes, and we are also looking at ways to protect the environment," Sen. Kennedy said.
However, Republicans in Albany don't seem keen on coming together on any sort of compromise on the matter.
"The problem with the Democratic Party in New York State is the tail is wagging the dog. The most radical elements of their party are really the ones that are designing all of these grandiose ideas, and then forcing them down the throats of average New Yorkers, the taxpayers that are paying the bill. I'm not hopeful for any compromise," Sen. Borrello said.
As part of the proposed budget, it's written that beginning in 2025, 2030 and 2035 that certain appliances would not be available to certain levels of either residential or commercial buildings. Democrats acknowledge this is more so a starting point for conversations with the proposal, which has seen plenty of pushback from the Republicans. Sen. Kennedy says the conversations will continue to eventually get to a resolution for both sides to agree upon.
As for Borrello and other Republicans, they feel the Democrats need to get to a reality that this proposal isn't going to work in New York State.
"There's not enough power capacity in New York State. We would have to triple the amount of power that we produce in New York State, and there's absolutely no plan," Sen. Borrello said. "They're shutting down reliable forms of energy - nuclear power, natural gas. There is just no plan. There is no science that says that New York State will be able to meet that demand. They need to reconsider this, and I also reject the idea that we have to do this. We do not have to do this."
Meanwhile, there is some concern from businesses across the region that are seeing sky-high energy bills after installing alternative heating and cooling systems to fossil fuels. This is due to demand charges being added to their energy bills, especially in the winter and summer months.
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However, as Sen. Borrello explains, the state really has no interest in helping these commercial entities alleviate any extra costs.
"They will talk a good game, they talk about 'cap and invest', where certain manufacturers will be able to bid on carbon credits so that they can continue to use fossil fuels. But in the end, they're diminishing that, so in the end, it'll be down to zero. So what we're saying is that we're driving those manufacturers away," he said. "I don't think there is any reasonable plan, and certainly no plan that I have seen proposed by the Governor or by the majority of Democrats, to help mitigate any of the damage that this is going to do.
"The people of New York State need to step up, need to speak out and say, 'enough is enough'. We are sick of these radical ideas that are going to destroy our state."