| | | | |  | | By Marie J. French and Ry Rivard | | | Good morning and welcome to the post-holiday Tuesday version of the weekly Monday edition of the New York & New Jersey Energy newsletter. We'll take a look at the week ahead and look back on what you may have missed last week.
| | BPU AT FOUR: New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities remains down a member after a year of vacancies, including one caused by the death last fall of its longtime president. Michael Bange, a former senior manager for operations at New Jersey American Water, joined the board last week after being nominated to the board by Gov. Phil Murphy and confirmed by the Senate late last year. The five-person board currently only has four members. “With 30 years experience in a water utility, we’re really thrilled to have him,” said BPU president Christine Guhl-Sadovy. Bange replaced Mary-Anna Holden, who has taken a particular interest in water policy and regulation while at the BPU for the past 12 years. Bange’s experience should let him fill that role at a time when water companies are looking for ratepayer money to filter out emerging contaminants and replace old infrastructure, including lead service lines. He has however said he’ll need to get up to speed on other issues, including offshore wind. “I just ask for you to give me some patience to get my feet built in here to get running,” Bange said during a board meeting last week. — Ry Rivard HAPPY TUESDAY MORNING: . Let us know if you have tips, story ideas or life advice. We're always here at mfrench@politico.com and rrivard@politico.com. And if you like this letter, please tell a friend and/or loved one to sign up. Want to receive this newsletter every weekday? Subscribe to POLITICO Pro. You’ll also receive daily policy news and other intelligence you need to act on the day’s biggest stories.
| | A message from Con Edison: Our new study shows that climate change will impact New York more severely than previously anticipated — meaning the potential for more extreme weather events. That's why Con Edison is working to strengthen the reliability of our energy system, including ushering in the Brooklyn Clean Energy Hub — an $800 million transformative infrastructure investment that will deliver renewable power to the people of Brooklyn. Read more here. | | | RIVER CLEANUP PUSH: Local officials are pushing for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to decide that the dredging of the Hudson River didn’t fully protect human health. They sent a letter earlier this week urging the EPA to make the determination as part of the delayed, five-year review process. “The data trends clearly indicate that the selected remedy is not on track to meet the goals needed to protect human or ecological health,” the officials wrote. The EPA is undertaking a third five-year review of the effectiveness of General Electric’s dredging to remove toxic PCBs the company dumped in the river. The last review deferred a decision on whether the dredging effectively protected human health, pending additional data. Environmental advocates have argued, based on the available data, that the river is not on track to meet the targeted levels of contamination in fish that the EPA thought would result from the dredging effort. “Fishing has been observed and fish are being consumed, putting a particularly unjust burden on those who rely on fish for subsistence,” the officials wrote. The community advisory group for the Hudson River Superfund cleanup is set to meet Jan. 18, and the EPA will likely provide an update on the review. The EPA plans to release the draft of the five-year review, which includes data collected from 2017 to 2021, early this year. — Marie J. French Here's what we're watching this week: TUESDAY — It’s Gov. Kathy Hochul’s deadline to introduce her budget proposal. WEDNESDAY — The New York Department of Transportation is holding a public forum about the Route 17 expansion, which faces opposition from environmental groups. — The Hudson River community advisory group meets virtually, 1 p.m. — The EPA holds a "Community, Equity, and Resilience Initiative Kickoff Roadshow Event" with WE ACT for Environmental Justice at the Albany Housing Authority, 200 South Pearl Street. THURSDAY — The New York Public Service Commission meets, 10:30 a.m. On the draft agenda there’s a value of distributed energy item and a petition to change the interconnection process for below 5 megawatt resources.
| | — New York is spending $750,000 annually to raise pheasants to provide sport for hunters. The practice faces criticism and a legislative proposal to ban it. — Long Island scallops keep dying off, but there are efforts to help them survive in the face of threats from climate change. — Federal EV funding is on the way. — Plug Power installed its first hydrogen electrolyzer at an Amazon facility in Denver. — A Bronx park got funding to renovate and expand. — Newsday’s Mark Harrington goes deep on EV charging challenges on Long Island. — Conflict over solar on agricultural land leads to new restrictions in a rural Erie County town. — The village of New Hempstead had a rezoning to increase housing density blocked by a judge due to environmental review failures.
| | — New Jersey residents near the state’s flood-prone rivers are pushing for solutions.
| | MURPHY CAST AS REGIONAL TRANSIT VILLAIN — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy came to office six years ago as a Democrat promising to save public transit in his state. Instead of becoming a hometown hero, Murphy’s now being blamed in two states for worsening the already dysfunctional regional transit system that surrounds and serves New York City. Democrats, advocates and environmentalists across the region increasingly cast Murphy as a mass transit villain and New York’s business leaders are souring on him. The problems start at home with New Jersey Transit — a state agency that runs the nation’s second-largest commuter train service and a sprawling network of bus routes. The agency, which Murphy has repeatedly pledged to fix even “if it kills me,” is facing a $100 million budget deficit this summer that will grow to nearly $1 billion next year. New York City businesses rely on NJ Transit to bring workers in on time, making it an issue for both states. At the same time, Murphy has inserted himself into the debate about a plan to charge exorbitant new tolls to enter lower Manhattan, an effort New York officials say will raise $15 billion so the Metropolitan Transportation Authority can fund upgrades to New York’s subway and bus systems. The frustration, which others in New York share, is a dramatic turn against Murphy, who quickly got to work fixing NJ Transit when he took office in 2018, as his supporters and even critics will attest. GAS BATTLE BEGINS: Labor unions and gas utilities are ramping up their opposition to efforts to restrict subsidies for new hookups to the system. New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, a pleasantly named industry and labor supported group, issued a statement in opposition to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s proposal to end the “obligation to serve” requiring gas utilities to connect new customers and the “100 foot rule” that subsidizes a portion of the costs of new hookups by charging other customers. Environmental advocates have pushed to address these policies for years, arguing the state’s utility law needs to be aligned with the climate law. But upstate and suburban Assembly Democrats are leery of the impacts. Arguments about higher costs for rehabbing old homes in hollowed out upstate cities, more expenses for homeowners and potential backlash from voters if a transition is not well managed appear to be resonating. Daniel Ortega, executive director for New Yorkers for Affordable Energy and head of community affairs for Engineers Labor-Employee Cooperative (ELEC 825), said in a statement the group applauds Hochul for not including a key plank of the legislative proposal on this issue: a 6 percent of income cap on utility bills for low- and moderate-income New York residents. The governor wisely chose to “buck extremists” in leaving out the “wealth distribution scheme,” he said. Advocacy groups are gearing up to push for including the mandate, which could be paid for by higher costs for other utility customers, in the final budget. Ending the 100-foot rule “threatens good paying union jobs at a time when our state can ill afford such losses,” Ortega added. “In many areas, natural gas is the most affordable option for an average family. This proposal would move this choice out of reach for all but the most affluent families.” NYSERDA’s analysis shows new construction with all-electric equipment is nearing parity with gas for single-family homes. Retrofits can be more costly, but switching from oil to heat pumps ultimately provides savings. “We do see New York HEAT as an energy affordability bill, because it will help us avoid those expensive and unnecessary and climate killing gas investments in favor of more affordable alternatives,” said Jessica Azulay, executive director of the Alliance for a Green Economy. She said that gas utilities have been proposing huge rate hikes driven by continued spending on the gas system. New Yorkers for Affordable Energy’s current steering committee members include ELEC 825, National Fuel Gas, Enbride, Millennium Pipeline Co., and utility contractor Power and Construction Group Inc, according to a spokesman. The group is now launching its 2024 membership drive. It no longer lists members and funders of the group on its website.— Marie J. French
| | | | A message from Con Edison:   | | | BOTTLE BILL BATTLE RETURNS: The 5-cent deposit aimed at incentivizing New Yorkers to return that soda can for recycling will be a focus for lawmakers this session — if advocates get their way. Revamping the system first established in 1983 has been a priority for advocates, including the New York Public Interest Research Group, for years. Recently, redemption centers that collect and sort containers for a 3.5 cent fee have joined the clamor as inflation pushed their costs higher. The statutory fee has remained unchanged since 2009. Increasing the deposit to a dime and expanding the bill to cover more containers would raise between $40 million and $200 million for the state, according to a new analysis backed by NYPIRG. More than 300 groups signed on to a letter urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to include the measure in the budget. Supporters held a press conference today in Albany. “The state’s ‘Bottle Bill’ has been a tremendous success, but it needs an update,” said NYPIRG executive director Blair Horner in a statement. “The governor must include modernization in her budget — it both raises revenues for the state as well as helps struggling redemption centers.” Hochul didn’t mention waste issues at all in her State of the State or accompanying policy book. The chairs of the Environmental Conservation committees have been more focused on a new system to reduce packaging waste. But Assemblymember Deborah Glick did say she also wants to tackle the bottle bill this session. The Business Council of New York State, Inc., which opposes the Legislature’s packaging proposal, is also warning against an expansion of the bottle bill, arguing it would raise costs to consumers. “As the state continues to consider broad ‘producer responsibility’ legislation for a wide range of packaging, it makes little policy sense to also expand a parallel post-consumer material management program,” said Business Council spokesperson Pat Bailey in a statement. — The Times Union covered the event. ANOTHER JUDGE IN CONGESTION PRICING CASE — The closely watched lawsuit New Jersey brought to block New York’s congestion pricing plan has its third judge — the second new one in as many days. The first, U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti, recused himself amid criticism that he was too close to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. On Tuesday, the case was reassigned to Judge Julien Xavier Neals but on Wednesday the court said that assignment was done “in error” and the case was reassigned to Judge Claire C. Cecchi. No further reason was given for the re-reassignment, but Neals is a former county counsel for Bergen County. Officials from that county have brought their own suit to block congestion pricing, a case that may be consolidated with the New Jersey litigation brought by Murphy. — Ry Rivard ICYMI: GUTIERREZ-SCACCETTI UNCLEAR FATE — POLITICO’s Matt Friedman: “Gov. Phil Murphy’s Chief of Staff Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti has been in the job for a little over three months, but her future there is uncertain. I’m told things have been turbulent in the front office, with Gutierrez-Scaccetti in and Chief Counsel Parimal Garg — have butted heads.” Readers of this newsletter will also know Gutierrez-Scaccetti as a key figure in regional transportation issues. HOCHUL WHIFFS ON CLIMATE IN SPEECH: Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned “climate” once in her State of the State speech, underwhelming some environmental advocates who were nevertheless enthused by her embrace of a measure to limit expansion of the state’s gas system in an accompanying policy book. “We’re enacting a vision of New York where veterans embark upon incredible careers, fighting the climate crisis with green energy and offshore wind,” Hochul said during the roughly hour-long address. “Where unions are strong and our infrastructure is resilient, able to withstand hundred-year storms” “I think Taylor Swift got mentioned more than climate change,” said Earthjustice New York policy advocate Liz Moran. (Hochul quoted the “philosopher” and music superstar once and was played out with “Welcome to New York.”) Moran said while there are good proposals in the State of the State policy book, “it’s a shame the governor couldn’t talk about that while she had this platform.” With Hochul supporting ending subsidies for new gas hookups and the “obligation to serve,” all eyes turn to Assembly Democrats on the issue, since the Senate has previously backed the legislative version of the proposal. “It’s right there for the Assembly to pick up that mantle of leadership,” said Allison Considine with the Building Decarbonization Coalition. “We didn't ask for that much in the speech this year, but we didn't get anything,” said Anne Reynolds, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York. She said that most issues facing the renewable industry require agency action and many of the proposals included in the policy book focus on the Public Service Commission. “We need a strong commission at full strength and willing to make tough decisions to protect the climate,” Reynolds said. “The legislature's big assignment for the year on climate will be to get probably three new commissioners in place.” (The current commission rejected the request from renewable developers to hike prices for existing contracts for new solar and wind projects, citing the high cost to consumers.) Reynolds also said the industry hadn’t pushed for the transmission siting proposal advanced by Hochul, but she views it as well intentioned. The inclusion of a study on a low-carbon fuel standard for the transportation sector appeared to please no one. Clean Fuels NY Alliance, the coalition supporting the policy which includes labor, various industry groups including biofuels producers, agriculture groups and electric vehicle makers, expressed appreciation for the study. But it “must not delay the passage of this important legislation,” the group said in a statement. Opponents of the concept expressed concern. “While we support the Governor’s instincts to take a hard look at transportation emissions, New York must not fall victim to the fossil fuel industry’s false solutions,” NY Renews wrote in a statement. Hochul doesn’t need legislative sign-off to direct her agencies to do a study, but the program would need statutory authority. Hochul’s policy book also outlined plans to spend the state’s $4.2 billion bond act. That includes a voluntary buyout program that won praise from The Nature Conservancy and the Regional Plan Association. “Buyout programs are critically important, not just to the families they help, but to entire communities when we can return flood-damaged properties back into native wildlife habitats that reduce the impacts of flooding,” said Jessica Ottney Mahar, the Nature Conservancy’s policy and strategy director. — Marie J. French
| | A message from Con Edison: Our new climate change study shows that heat indexes are on the rise, and there is a higher potential for severe storms and weather events. Con Edison is committed to understanding these risks and taking the steps necessary to strengthen the reliability of our energy system, with more renewable energy and a modernized, resilient electric grid — so that all our customers can share in the benefits of the clean energy future. Read more here. | | | MURPHY BARELY MENTIONS ENERGY, TRANSIT — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat entering the final legislative session of his career but whose wife is trying to bring the family name to the U.S. Senate, used his annual State of the State address Tuesday to push back against attacks on abortion rights, champion the economic potential of artificial intelligence and hammer away at the state’s most stubborn issue, affordability. Despite some major setbacks last year — notably a Danish company’s decision to cancel two of the state’s three approved offshore wind projects amid turmoil in that industry — the governor said he is still committed to his clean energy goals. But he did not mention a bill to make his goal into law or promise to sign such a bill, though one is expected to come up early in this legislative session. He also mentioned the Gateway project to build a new train tunnel across the Hudson River, but not budget issues with NJ Transit. JUDGE OFF CONGESTION PRICING SUIT — POLITICO’s Ry Rivard: A federal judge overseeing the fate of New York’s landmark congestion pricing plan recused himself from the case following questions by a New York senator about the judge’s ties to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, according to a Tuesday court filing. In December, New York Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Hoylman-Sigal called for U.S. District Judge Brian Martinotti to recuse himself because the judge is married to a Murphy ally. The governor filed a lawsuit last year that seeks to upend federal approval of New York’s tolling plan. The closely watched case could decide the fate of New York’s landmark plan to reduce traffic and fund public transit through new tolls on drivers, including New Jersey commuters. HOCHUL BACKS LIMITING GAS EXPANSION — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to curtail the expansion of the state’s gas system and align utility rules with the state’s climate law. Hochul plans to embrace portions of a major environmental priority focused on natural gas utilities as part of her State of the State on Tuesday. The governor isn’t backing all portions of a Senate-backed gas transition measure dubbed “NY HEAT,” but her opening salvo signals the issue is likely to be a top item in budget negotiations. The governor is also proposing a statewide community solar program for utility customers receiving bill assistance, new efforts by utility regulators to harness smart meters and plan for virtual power plants, and a revamp of the state’s siting process for transmission projects. “With bold actions to deploy renewable energy swiftly and transition away from fossil fuels, we are not only charting the course for a cleaner and healthier New York State, but we are making important changes that will reduce costs for our most vulnerable New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement. “Energy affordability will continue to be a top priority of my climate agenda because we need to combat climate change and protect all New Yorkers.” FIVE ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES TO WATCH — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: New York lawmakers this session will have to balance pressure to take action on climate policy with concerns about consumer cost in a critical election year. Top New York Democratic lawmakers expressed a desire to keep moving forward on measures to slash emissions and reduce waste as the six-month session kicked off last week. “There’s so much we need to do on climate this year,” said Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “We have no choice; we just have to keep upping the ante.” MURPHY BACKS CLEAN ENERGY EXEMPTION — Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill exempting one of the state’s oldest manufacturers from the state’s clean energy regulations, adding a law to the books that environmentalists worry will create a slippery slope. The bill, A5813, allows Marcal Paper Products to buy power that doesn’t subsidize clean energy projects by exempting the toilet paper maker from the state's renewable portfolio standard, which requires a mix of power used by all electricity customers to have a certain amount of renewable energy in it. The company has been through years of hardship — a bankruptcy, a fire and the pandemic — and said the high cost of power is hindering its recovery. It argues it is at a particular competitive disadvantage because of all the recycled paper products it makes using a high-energy process. “As a result of the current structure of the law, virgin paper producers are winning for the wrong reasons,” company CEO Rob Baron told lawmakers last month. Environmentalists rushed to stop the bill before the holidays, but it was passed unanimously in the Senate and Assembly before the governor signed it without comment. “It’s disappointing, it’s really not the right approach to providing economic support for a company like Marcal,” said the executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters, Ed Potosxnak. — Ry Rivard | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Follow us | | | | |
