April 30, 2026
FROM ASSEMBLYMAN PALMESANO: Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) is voicing his disappointment after the Assembly Energy Committee voted down his legislation earlier this week, which would have protected consumers’ energy choice (A.6796). Specifically, it would have prohibited the state from banning the use or replacement of fossil fuel (i.e., natural gas, propane, etc.) equipment to heat, cook or power both new and existing homes and buildings. Palmesano says this is just another example of how completely out of touch Albany Democrats are with their march to the full electrification of New York while eliminating consumer choice.
“Every person should have the choice about which type of equipment they want to install in their homes, but Albany Democrats seem to disagree. They continue to push their costly and misguided green policies with claims it will reduce global emissions. However, the fact of the matter is, New York only contributes 0.4% of global emissions. 0.4%. China contributes 30%, has 1,000 coal plants and is building more every week. So, we can get to zero, but it will not make any difference in global emissions. Nonetheless, if we do continue down this path, New Yorkers are going to lose their ability to choose how they heat their homes, cook their food, power their buildings and the vehicles they drive. Albany Democrats don’t care about protecting energy choice; they only care about virtue signaling to the far left,” said Palmesano.
Palmesano also argues there is an economic facet to this as well, and that his bill would have protected New Yorkers from the high cost of electrifying their homes.
“Recent reports found that the cost of converting homes over from natural gas to full electrification could be more than $35,000 per household. This, while keeping in mind 60% of New Yorkers use natural gas to heat their homes, and 40% of our energy generation comes from natural gas. So why on earth, when there is already an affordability crisis in our state and continued reliability concerns raised by the New York Independent System Operators, who are tasked with making sure the lights and heat stay on and our energy grid meets our needs, would we continue to force New York families to take on this large financial burden? It is not just homeowners who would be affected, either; the commercial sector will be negatively impacted by the forced electrification of New York, and it will put our businesses at a real competitive disadvantage. Businesses care about two things when it comes to energy policy: Is it affordable, and is it reliable? And if they can’t get affordable and reliable energy in New York, they will go elsewhere. These green mandates, policies and assaults on the use of natural gas, propane and other reliable fossil fuels will continue to jeopardize the reliability of our grid, leading to dangerous and deadly blackouts and our nation-leading outmigration crisis of more families, farmers, small businesses and manufacturers leaving our state,” said Palmesano.
