Column by Assemblyman Joseph Angelino (R,C-Norwich)

 

All across the state, families are seeing a rise in their electric bills; not a day goes by that someone doesn’t email, call or stop and ask me about their energy bill. I explain that it seems the Majority legislators in Albany either don’t care or are willfully ignorant of the problem. They continue to push ahead with their impractical and unrealistic energy plan. Their ultimate goal is to completely dismantle the state's natural gas infrastructure and get everyone to switch to electricity. We have seen as much with the impending 2026 gas stove and appliances ban and the end of the 100-foot rule for gas line connections.

 

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that this will do two things. The first is raising rates on families as they are forced to abandon the cheaper product, which is natural gas, and be forced to use the most expensive power sources, wind and solar. The second is that New York’s electric grid isn’t built to withstand everyone in the state using electricity nonstop. Engineers and the Independent Power Producers of New York, Inc. (IPPNY) have been warning of the instability of wind and solar as long as I’ve been in Albany. They warn there is a real danger of rolling brownouts and possibly blackouts.