Advocates Urge Hochul to Act on Soaring Utility Costs
By MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
Queens lawmakers and climate advocates gathered outside Con Edison’s Astoria plant on Dec. 3, urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign legislation that would repeal New York’s “100-foot rule,” a decades-old subsidy they say burdens ratepayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary gas infrastructure costs.
The event was part of a coordinated statewide campaign led by the Renewable Heat Now coalition and more than 20 partner organizations pushing for a transition to cleaner, more affordable home heating. Advocates held similar rallies this fall in Kingston, Westchester, Rochester and Brooklyn, making the Queens stop one of the final pushes before the governor’s year-end signing deadline.
Organizers say the 100-foot rule forces all gas customers to subsidize new gas line extensions for any building located within 100 feet of a main. That cost, they argue, contributes directly to rising delivery charges on gas bills, even for residents who use little energy or live in small apartments. State regulators estimate the rule adds nearly $600 million to customers’ bills each year.
“New Yorkers, especially the working families and immigrant communities I represent are being squeezed by an outrageous cost-of-living crisis. With energy bills climbing higher and higher, our neighbors need relief as soon as possible. Repealing the 100-foot rule is a commonsense fix that can deliver immediate support and protect families by repealing the requirement for ratepayers to subsidize fossil fuel infrastructure expansion. I urge Governor Hochul to finish the job and sign this bill before the year ends so we can bring meaningful, much-needed relief to communities across our state,” said Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, who helped anchor the Queens event.
González-Rojas has been one of the coalition’s most active supporters, and organizers built the Astoria appearance around her participation. The rally also featured a wheelbarrow filled with 5,810 “100 Grand” candy bars, a visual symbol of the $581 million they say New Yorkers could save if the repeal becomes law.
The 100-foot rule repeal passed both houses of the Legislature in June with broad margins. It represents a piece of a larger bill, the New York Heat Act, which climate groups have been trying to advance for more than three years.
Lisa Marshall, an organizer with Renewable Heat Now and a member of New Yorkers for Clean Power, said the coalition is racing the clock to keep pressure on the governor. “For the past few years, we’ve been trying to pass the bill called the New York heat act, and which is with enact reforms that would mean cleaner heat and lower bills for all New Yorkers,” she said. “At the end of the legislative session in June, one of the big pieces of the New York heat Act passed through the legislature, not the whole bill. The piece that passed the legislature is called the repeal of the 100 foot rule.”
Marshall said advocates have spent months holding regional press conferences, gathering thousands of postcards and meeting with legislators. “We’ve been doing press conferences all over the state. We have 1000s and 1000s of postcards people have signed asking the governor to sign the bill,” she said.
During the Astoria rally, supporters emphasized that even Con Edison has endorsed ending the mandate. In a statement last week, the utility said, “Con Edison recognizes the need to advance the clean energy future, and we support the legislative repeal of the 100-foot rule entitlement.”
Marshall said the support reflects shifting priorities among some utilities. “I think they are interested in really building out their electric service side, and being part of building electrification,” she said.
But she noted that not all utilities share that view. “Yes, national grids pretty opposed because they see an opportunity to make a lot of money on Long Island, where a lot of people are still on oil, by extending the gas system to those people who are on oil and propane,” Marshall said. She added that utilities profit from infrastructure expansion rather than fuel sales, giving them incentives to extend gas lines even as the state tries to reduce fossil fuel use.
Queens advocates said their borough’s rising bills and economic pressures make the reform especially urgent. Many cited recent rate increases from both Con Edison and National Grid. Marshall said residents often misunderstand why bills climb annually. “It’s not because people are using more gas. It’s because the utilities are just getting away with murder raising these bills,” she said.
Advocates argue the rule is outdated and inequitable, pointing to states like California, Colorado, Connecticut and Maryland that have already ended similar subsidies. They believe repealing the rule in New York would slow future rate hikes by removing a major cost driver, even if it does not immediately lower bills.
“New Yorkers are being squeezed by rising costs, and working families deserve real relief wherever we can deliver it. Repealing the 100-foot rule is the most basic step lawmakers can take to discourage new, outdated fossil-fuel infrastructure while lowering energy bills and accelerating our fight against climate change. The Legislature has done its part. Now the governor must sign the bill,” said Assembly member Claire Valdez.
With the governor yet to indicate when she will act, the coalition says it plans to hold what it calls its final press conference of the year in Albany on Thursday, where members will deliver postcards urging her to sign the bill. Marshall said advocates remain hopeful but are prepared to continue pushing. “I don’t know what to say if she doesn’t sign it. I guess we’re just gonna have to keep on fighting,” she said.
She added that the repeal aligns with Hochul’s stated goals on affordability. “It’s a little baffling that she hasn’t signed it, if I’m being honest,” Marshall said. “This bill just makes a lot of common sense for her to go ahead and sign and start providing, you know, a step towards energy bill relief for New Yorkers.”
For many of the Queens residents and organizers gathered in Astoria, the message to the governor was simple: ending the rule would protect families facing another winter of rising costs.
