Buffalo, NY (WBEN) State lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are warning of significant costs as a result of clean energy laws. An assemblyman says Governor Hochul is reviewing the laws.
Ortt says he and other Republicans have been seeking answers on the cost of the clean energy mandates passed in 2019. He says last week, it was disclosed that NYSERDA has issued findings that fundamentally agree with much of what Republicans have been saying for the past 7 years – that the Democrat’s Climate Law is unaffordable and failing to meet its own benchmarks. “This conference has called for transparency and accounting of the true costs of the CLCPA for years. Now, thanks to a memo from NYSERDA, we finally know what we’ve been saying all along – New Yorkers simply cannot afford the Democrats’ green energy mandates. They continue to champion policies that they unequivocally know are driving up costs and making life less affordable. You can't just say affordability and wish it into existence when your policies are going to add $4,100 to people's bills and drive gas costs up to $5 or more at the pump. Democrats want to be California-we are on our way. New Yorkers need to understand-to get different policies they need different policy makers,” says Ortt.
Those numbers are also large to Assemblymember Bill Conrad. "It's a number that a lot of folks on both sides of the aisle, I think, have been very leery of as more and more of these projects and inflation and all the things that go with it have come into light," says Conrad, a Democrat. "I don't doubt that number right now, based on what I'm seeing on the ground, with all the different types of things that are going on."
Conrad says he firmly believes the timing has to be looked at again. "I do not disagree with its objectives. I believe they're well intended. But I think, you know, taking a look at law and the cost, we can't do it alone as New York and we've always seen other states like California start to roll back on some of those things because of the cost. You just can't stomach that," explains Conrad.
Conrad notes Governor Hochul is leading the conversation to review the issue. "The memo comes from her department. Her budget director has talked about that and saying that's something that we need to tackle. You're starting to see opposition rumors flying here in Albany, and so I have to say that I'm I think she's very much about doing something in that space, and I'm here to support her in doing that," says Conrad.
Conrad says the issue is getting the legislature to look at the matter. "I think folks who are going to come from every direction, from the we told you, to dealing with the folks that are like, 'No, we need to do this now, no matter what the cost,' and I think it's going to take the adults in the room to get us into a place that we need to be," says Conrad.
Hochul has delayed implementation until next year after the election.