New Yorkers can look forward to higher electricity prices and future blackouts as its electricity sector is being transformed by the Climate and Community Protection Act
New York's Con Ed has had two major power outages within a two-week period--and the outages probably will continue given the state's new policies that will only destabilize its electric grid further. The state will not allow new natural gas pipelines, which has forced moratoria on new natural gas hook-ups in Westchester County, Brooklyn, Queens, and on Long Island. Furthermore, the state has approved a climate bill that mandates an 85-percent reduction in all greenhouse gas emissions--from vehicles, manufacturing, agriculture, etc.--and "offsets" for the remaining 15 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. The legislation also mandates the state to generate 70 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040. In 2018, 26.4 percent of the state's electricity came from renewable energy, which was less than the 28 percent in 2017. The bill, the Climate and Community Protection Act, establishes a Climate Action Council to ensure that the state meets its targets.
Source: The Empire Center
Source: The Empire Center
