December 21, 2025
Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C-Corning) is voicing his outrage at Gov. Hochul for signing the repeal of New York’s 100-foot rule. The rule requires utilities to cover the cost of new gas hookups located within 100 feet of an existing main line. Without this rule in effect, the cost will be transferred to households, builders and renters, making life more expensive. Palmesano and his Republican Assembly colleagues recently wrote a letter to the governor urging her to veto this bill.
“What the governor has done will shift thousands of dollars in new hookup costs directly onto households, builders and renters. New Yorkers are already facing some of the highest costs of living in the nation, and it appears Gov. Hochul is okay with those numbers going up. This is unfair to hardworking people who are already struggling to make ends meet,” said Palmesano.
Palmesano also pointed to the reliability of natural gas and how this will impact safety, grid reliability and costs for customers.
“By moving away from natural gas, we are putting more strain on an electric grid that simply cannot handle it. We run the risk of rolling blackouts and people losing their power, which is especially worrisome during upstate winters, when temperatures regularly drop below freezing. This will also make it more difficult to access natural gas by making it more expensive to connect to gas while increasing the costs to existing users because there will be fewer customers to share in the capital and operational costs of the affordable and reliable gas system,” continued Palmesano.
Finally, Palmesano called out the governor for her hypocrisy, as she previously voiced her support for an all-of-the-above approach to energy in New York.
“When the governor voiced her support for a common-sense, all-of-the-above approach for New York energy, I was encouraged, but it seems that we simply cannot trust Kathy Hochul to keep her word. Instead of actually going forward with such an approach, she has decided to join legislative Democrats in their effort to dismantle the affordable and reliable natural gas infrastructure, supply and delivery system in New York and move ahead on their plan to full electrify New York’s energy grid. This is part of their climate agenda designed to take away consumer choice on how you heat your home, cook your food, power your buildings and the vehicle you drive. It will jeopardize the reliability of the grid and continue our nation-leading outmigration of more New York families and businesses leaving our state. I condemn the governor’s decision to sign this reckless bill in the strongest terms possible,” concluded Palmesano.
