Guest Editorial by Roger Caiazza

Climate Act Costs are Unsustainable

There is a connection between the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and the recently announced New York State Electric and Gas rate case increase plan. I don’t think we can afford to implement the CLCPA.

The NYSEG rate case includes a proposed increase in annual electric revenues of approximately $464.4 million (https://pragmaticenvironmentalistofnewyork.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/case-25-e-0375-revenue-breakdown-between-clcpa-pol.pdf). This would result in a typical residential bill increase of $33.12 per month (a 23.7 percent increase to the total bill) for a customer using 600 kWh per month. The requested revenue increases due to CLCPA policy programs are 26 percent of the monthly increase, or $8.52.

This is just a portion of the electricity cost increases caused by the Climate Act. The NYSEG rate increase covers delivery costs, but ratepayers also must pay for supply costs.

Although not part of the CLCPA, New York State is a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which is essentially a carbon tax. The RGGI is an integral part of the initiatives necessary to meet CLCPA goals. In 2021, the permits to emit a ton of carbon dioxide (allowance) cost $9.47 each. In 2025, the cost of an allowance is $19.70, and costs could be as much as $29.25 in 2027 due to recently announced revisions. Those cost increases will increase the cost of the electricity supply.
The Hochul administration has never provided a full accounting of CLCPA costs. Instead they rely on the slogan that the “costs of inaction are more than the costs of action.”

That contrived statement (https://pragmaticenvironmentalistofnewyork.blog/2022/12/28/climate-act-scoping-plan-costs-shell-game/) was based on misleading arguments and selective examples of costs and benefits. Although there is a legislative mandate to provide ratepayer costs, an update covering 2022 costs is long overdue.

In July 2023, the Department of Public Service released the “First Annual Informational Report on Overall Implementation of the CLCPA”,(https://documents.dps.ny.gov/public/Common/ViewDoc.aspx?DocRefId=%7b20E17489-0000-C114-AD41-8089369DB6F3%7d). DPS found that 7.6 percent of the NYSEG monthly electric bill in 2021 was related to CLCPA costs. There has been no update of this “annual” report since then.
There have, however, been some encouraging signs that these issues are going to force reconsideration of the schedule and ambition of the CLCPA.

Eighteen state senators—including Sen. Peter Oberacker (R-C), 51st Senate District—recently urged Governor Kathy Hochul to “convene a comprehensive review process involving a wide range of stakeholders—industry experts, energy producers, ratepayer advocates, labor and local communities.” (https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/robert-g-ortt/senate-republicans-call-governor-hochul-declare-energy).

Recent New York State Energy Plan (https://energyplan.ny.gov/) meetings have acknowledged that there are many evolving factors that will likely impact CLCPA progress. Even Gov. Hochul has suggested that a “slow down” (https://www.wgrz.com/article/tech/science/environment/gov-hochul-nys-climate-law-update-consumer-utility-rates/71-53053e4f-ffcd-475a-a02e-119ec977ae77) on the CLCPA is needed.

Where should we go from here? The first step is to demand that DPS provide an updated Informational report that documents what the costs are now. It is unacceptable that this report is over a year late. I also believe a pause to reconsider the CLCPA timing and targets is necessary.

Next, we need to define acceptable affordability. A Business Council of New York memo (https://www.bcnys.org/sites/default/files/2023-01/January 2023 Hearing – CLCPA Scoping Plan Implementation.pdf) on Climate Act implementation made the point that the “CLCPA only requires the consideration of equitable impacts and cost minimization, in effect making affordability and cost-effectiveness of CLCPA implementation measures a consideration, not a requirement.”

When asked about accountability for the CLCPA program costs, utilities in recent rate cases have responded that they are mandated by the law to include the projects. In the rate cases, DPS staff claim that defining acceptable affordability is not in the scope of individual rate cases. This must stop, because the observed increases are simply not acceptable.

Born in Cooperstown and a graduate of Oneonta High School, Roger Caiazza holds a bachelor’s in meteorology from SUNY Oneonta and a master’s in meteorology from the University of Alberta, Edmonton. Before his retirement in 2018, he was a certified consulting meteorologist and worked in the air quality industry for more than 40 years. The goal of Caiazza’s blog, “Pragmatic Environmentalist of New York,” is to explain the importance of balancing risks and benefits of both sides of environmental issues.