FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Contact: info@publicpowerny.org
Winter Storm Energy Bill Hike Exposes Danger of Hochul’s Gas Bet
Hochul’s “all the above” energy plan calls for 3GW of fracked gas power built in New York City, increasing pollution and tying New Yorkers’ energy bills to volatile fuel
New York, New York – Even before Winter Storm Fern sunk a large swath of the country into freezing cold temperatures last week, fracked gas futures saw a historic spike, skyrocketing 70%. While many New Yorkers fear what the impact will be on their next energy bill, Hochul is proposing to tie our future even more to volatile fuels by building harmful fracked gas power, including 3 new gigawatts (GW) in New York City.
For decades, costly gas peaker plants have polluted low-income, Black and brown communities across New York City.
Said Public Power NY Campaign Coordinator Alex Patterson: “It’s not the first time notoriously volatile gas markets have sent energy bills skyrocketing. Every time we face a bomb cyclone or some other supercharged weather event, we pay for New York’s reliance on gas through our utility bills. Governor Hochul’s energy plan will lead to higher energy bills for New Yorkers and more pollution in our communities. There’s only one solution to the energy affordability crisis and the climate crisis: building public renewables.”
New York is alarmingly behind on meeting its legally mandated goal to get 70% renewable energy by 2030 and its emission reduction targets, but instead of rising to the challenge and using the New York Power Authority to build affordable, clean energy, Politico is reporting that Governor Hochul plans to use state budget negotiations to attempt to rollback New York’s national leading climate law.
Hochul claims energy affordability is a priority for her, but her “all the above” energy plan relies heavily on expanding fracked gas and nuclear power, which a study by the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media called “anti-affordability strategies.” Hochul included no money for public renewables in her budget despite thousands of New Yorkers and elected officials calling for $200 million in funding and the CEO of NYPA Justin Driscoll testifying that more money equals more projects.
###
Note to the editor:
About Public Power NY
As chronicled in the new book “Organize or Burn.” Public Power NY is a movement fighting to ensure New York effectively carries out the Build Public Renewables Act by building 15 Gigawatts of public renewables by 2030. Hailed as the first statewide Green New Deal law, BPRA was written by PPNY and passed in 2023 thanks to four years of organizing by a multiracial, multi-generational movement of climate and advocacy organizations, labor unions representing millions of New Yorkers and tens of thousands of New Yorkers who have taken action from upstate, downstate, and everywhere in between. With federal climate action off the table, BPRA has enabled NY to not just play defense against Trump, but lead the way the way FDR created NYPA to do.