Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was a mixed bag when it came to access to gas for new builds in New York State. While the HEAT Act failed to get traction past the State Assembly, lawmakers voted to rescind the 100-foot rule for access to gas for customers who want it.
Nick Stalnecker of National Fuel says the company is very pleased lawmakers, in particular, the Western New York delegation fought tirelessly for reliability and affordability for residents.
"We were very pleased to see that the New York HEAT Act did not make its way to the floor in either the Senate or the Assembly. And, of course, the New York HEAT Act would have targeted existing homes and businesses' use of natural gas," said Stalnecker in an interview with WBEN.
He says the HEAT Act attempted to allow the discontinuance of existing gas service, and ultimately the decommissioning of the gas system.
"If the gas utility is forced to decommission a pipeline that serves residential customers or otherwise, anybody on the other end of that system would have impact on their ability to get gas and in the state or in the same way a business that was on that part of the system would have lost access," Stalnecker explained.
He adds the state would not have been ready for electrification.
"It ultimately would've forced electrification on those users with no funding mechanism or plan to build out the electric system, replace appliances, upgrade infrastructure. So the cost for all that is totally unknown," Stalnecker said.
Stalnecker does raise concerns about the legislature's approval to repeal the 100-foot rule, denying claims it preserves affordability for rate payers.
"It does no such thing, and actually will exacerbate affordability in the housing crisis," he said. "Currently under the 100-foot rule, the first 100-foot of a new gas service is not an upfront cost to build a new home or new business or for building a subdivision of homes. And the user that joins the system would be paying into the rate base over a period of 60-to-80 years, where that cost is spread out."
He adds by adding new customers to the system, you're spreading fixed costs across a larger number of users. So it actually has the benefit of potentially reducing rates, or, at least, delaying rate increases.
Another individual concerned about the end of the 100-foot rule is Philip Nanula of Essex Homes, and President of the Buffalo Niagara Builders Association.
"It primarily is targeting new construction, because any person that currently has gas wouldn't be affected by that. So it really is going to put an extra cost on any new construction," said Nanula with WBEN. "The other issue I have with it is currently the way the law is, Jan. 1, 2026, new construction is supposed to be all electric, no permits granted after that date are supposed to have gas."
Nanula says he and others have been urging state lawmakers to grandfather existing neighborhoods.
He predicts such a rule would add thousands of dollars to a new build.
"It's very costly to put an all-electric system in a new home. With heat pumps and that type of technology that runs on electric, it doesn't perform the same way as natural gas appliances do. And in cold weather, it it really hurts the performance," Nanula said. "Most of our homes are bigger than 2,400 square feet, which is going to require a second system. That is going to cost the consumers over $20,000 more a house to put two heat pumps in a newly constructed home with a system that does not perform well in low temperatures."
Any changes would not affect existing gas customers.