West Seneca, N.Y. (WBEN) - Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23) met with local utility and energy providers in Western New York on Thursday to get their perspective on regulatory challenges they're facing in their work to keep the community safe during winter storms like last year's deadly blizzard.
"The importance of reliable energy during New York winters cannot be overstated. It saves lives. Yet, we see Gov. Hochul and radicals in Albany continue to chip away at the access to natural gas in the State of New York. Unleashing natural gas production will ensure that our state is prepared for future winters by increasing access to affordable and reliable energy," said Langworthy.
Langworthy mentioned a November 2023 report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) which analyzed Winter Storm Elliott and how the region can fortify its natural gas infrastructure.
"The report outlines that there was a massive decline in natural gas production processing, and what that means is that our fuel supply is struggling to meet the demands of our residential heating. Unfortunately, there's a lot of Democrats in Albany, led by the governor, that would rather implement a Green New Deal to meet their own political ideology needs, then ensure that New Yorkers have access to safe, reliable and dependable natural gas."
Langworthy references the prohibition of fossil fuel equipment or natural gas hookups in new buildings in New York State, which is set to go into effect in 2026 for new builds seven stories or less and 2029 for larger buildings.
"Electric is created by either hydropower at Niagara Falls, by nuclear power plants that they don't allow to be created in New York, or burning clean natural gas. We don't do coal fired power generation in New York anymore. We have to get real about this. New Yorkers need to understand where your power comes from. Natural gas is not the enemy, it is the clean bridge fuel to the future. The FERC report makes it very clear that if these policies don't change, the electric grid stands to fail in populated areas like Western New York and in New York City, potentially leaving 1000s of people without heat during winter storms. Natural gas is the difference between life and death in these situations."
Langworthy says we need an "all of the above" energy policy and explained legislation created by House Republicans that seeks to do that: H.R.1 - Lower Energy Costs Act, which has passed in the House but not the Senate.
"We need the Senate to take action on permitting reform, whether it's in the world of this bill or others, pipelines have got to be able to transmit power across state lines. This is a national situation, it's a national security situation. We have a grid that has insecurities because of weather, but it also has insecurities from international threats. We live in a very unstable world right now and we have to be very mindful and vigilant to understand that our power grid is critical infrastructure."
The meeting Langworthy had with the energy providers appear to be in a consensus that the energy deadlines brought upon by New York State is that they are not feasible and could cost households between $30,000 - $40,000.
"You could get part of the way there, you can start to work towards, you know, relying more on electricity but the cost to everyday taxpayers to heat your home by electric versus heating your home by natural gas is extraordinarily high. You could see heating bills, double or triple very easily."
