Gov. Kathy Hochul had a piece of advice for New Yorkers during July’s heat wave: “Set your thermostat to 78 degrees.” But that is not an energy solution. It is a warning sign.
After years of failed energy policies — including forcing electricity demand higher while blocking the reliable infrastructure needed to meet it — Gov. Hochul and Albany Democrats are now telling families to use less power when they need it most because the grid is close to failing. At the same time, for ideological reasons, the Hochul administration continues trying to stand in the way of one of the most obvious solutions available to bring more energy into the state and lower utility bills: the Constitution Pipeline.
This crisis did not come out of nowhere.
The New York Independent System Operator has repeatedly warned that electricity demand is rising as Albany forces more buildings, vehicles and public transportation systems onto the electric grid. NYISO entered this summer reporting the lowest reliability margin on record, with the growth in demand driven largely by the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
When government mandates greater electricity use, it must make sure there is enough reliable energy to meet that demand. That is basic common sense.
But Albany did the opposite.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo shut down the Indian Point nuclear power plant, eliminating a facility that had reliably supplied roughly one-quarter of New York City’s electricity. State leaders blocked major natural gas infrastructure, allowed dependable generating capacity to disappear and imposed sweeping mandates without a realistic plan to replace the energy they were taking off the system.
Gov. Hochul inherited the damage, but she chose to continue the same failed approach. She cannot blame her predecessor forever while maintaining the policies that created this mess.
The Constitution Pipeline is one of the clearest examples of what Albany got wrong.
The project is designed to deliver about 650,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day from Pennsylvania into New York. It would connect our state and the broader Northeast to one of the largest and lowest-cost natural gas supplies in the world.
Instead, New York used its permitting authority and legal challenges in attempts to kill it.
Think about that. Upstate New York sits only a few hundred miles from abundant Appalachian natural gas, yet families continue paying scarcity prices because Albany refused to embrace the infrastructure needed to move that energy where it is needed.
Constitution should have been in service years ago. Had it been built, New York would already have greater access to reliable supply and stronger protection against the severe price spikes that occur when demand rises during extreme heat or cold.
Independent studies now confirm the cost of Albany’s mistake.
An analysis by Daymark Energy Advisors estimated that Constitution could save New York electricity customers about $3 billion in electric costs by easing constraints and lowering wholesale power prices. A separate S&P Global analysis, which examined broader net energy savings across both natural gas and electricity markets, found the project could generate as much as $8.5 billion in net energy savings across the Northeast over 15 years while supporting nearly 2,000 jobs annually.
Both studies also found that greater supply would help limit extreme winter price spikes, when constrained pipeline capacity forces the Northeast to compete for expensive energy on the global market.
Albany should not need another study to understand that restricting supply while increasing demand causes prices to rise. Every farmer, manufacturer and small-business owner already understands that.
Upstate families understand it, too.
They see it when the utility bill arrives. Farmers see it in the cost of running barns, cooling milk, operating equipment and bringing products to market. Small businesses see it in refrigeration, heating, manufacturing and transportation expenses. Those costs eventually show up in the price of nearly everything New Yorkers buy.
Rural communities feel this pain especially hard. People often travel farther for groceries, health care and work. Homes are older and winters are colder. Families have fewer transportation and energy alternatives than lawmakers in Albany seem willing to acknowledge.
Gov. Hochul says affordability is one of her priorities. Her record tells a different story. She cannot mandate greater electricity consumption, restrict dependable energy supply and then act surprised when the grid struggles and monthly bills climb. She cannot tell families to conserve their way out of a shortage Albany created.
And she cannot continue trying to obstruct a project that New York forfeited its authority to block years ago. New York needs abundant, affordable and reliable energy. The evidence supporting Constitution is clear. The need is growing, and every additional delay leaves families and businesses paying more for Albany’s failures.
The Constitution Pipeline should have been built years ago. Gov. Hochul must stop trying to stand in its way of affordable and reliable energy solutions.