NEW DBRC HEAD: The Delaware River Basin Commission on Thursday chose Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, a long-time staffer and the agency’s No. 2, to be the new executive director of the multi-state water regulator. Steve Tambini announced this spring he was retiring after a decade atop the agency. He isn’t leaving until Dec. 1, but Thursday’s quarterly meeting of the commission was his last. The commission’s members — alternates that fill in for the governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania — received 100 applications and interviewed several applicants before settling on Kavanagh. “The Delaware River Basin Commission does exceptional work managing, protecting and improving water resources in areas throughout the Delaware River Basin, including across portions of New York State that benefit from a coordinated conservation approach,” Sean Mahar, the head of the New York DEC, said in a statement. “New York State congratulates Executive Director Kristen Bowman Kavanagh, who brings 30 years of experience and expertise in water resources management and engineering to this role. DEC looks forward to working with Ms. Bowman Kavanagh in this new leadership position to further protect and enhance the Delaware watershed.” According to her official biography, since becoming the deputy executive director in 2019, Kavanagh has led the DRBC’s technical and managerial teams related to water resources programs, forged a partnership with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to advance hazard mitigation and climate resilience and secured grant funding from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund to bolster scientific studies. New York’s usual representative — who is the third alternate to the commission — Kenneth Kosinski, a New York DEC staffer, is also retiring. — Ry Rivard HOCHUL’S ENERGY SUMMIT — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is facing major challenges to achieving near-term renewable energy goals, wants solutions to put New York ahead of other states — and is open to nuclear power playing a role. “I’m so excited about this ‘all of the above’ approach — except for the fracking and the coal — wind and solar, geothermal, hydrogen or even splitting an atom,” Hochul said. Hochul convened top energy officials and experts to discuss speeding renewable deployment Thursday in Syracuse, where she emphasized a commitment to artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing, which will require large amounts of energy. BPU TALKS BILL WORRIES: Two members of the Board of Public Utilities addressed concerns about high power bills during the start of their monthly meeting on Wednesday by urging customers to use less energy to keep their bills down — then voted to increase water rates for New Jersey American water customers. Last week, the BPU and some lawmakers announced a long-planned one-time bill credit for low-income customers. Thanks to a one-time $51 million program, more than a quarter million New Jersey utility customers will receive $175 off their gas or electric bills in September, the Murphy administration announced Monday. Wednesday’s comments were another crack — to a more limited audience — at trying to temper criticism of Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration over summer power bills. A hot summer is also to blame for the high bills, said BPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “We actually had two heat waves where we had seven consecutive 90 degree days, which is a very, very significant increase in heat and therefore air conditioning usage,” she said. But she also acknowledged that energy costs, including the rates approved by the board, were a factor. Guhl-Sadovy and fellow board member Zenon Christodoulou then both urged New Jersey residents to use less energy. “We want people to be cool, to be safe and to be healthy, but we would encourage everyone — especially when it’s hot — to try to conserve energy, raise those thermostats where you can,” she said. Christodoulou was blunter. “It’s just simple to use less,” he said. “We can’t control market forces. We won’t shirk our responsibility to make sure investments are made for the long-term. But we ask for your help to make sure you use as little as you need.” During the same meeting, the board approved new rates for New Jersey American water customers, which will increase a typical customer’s combined water and sewer bills by $10 per month. In a press release, the company said that “even with the new rates, the cost of high-quality, reliable, water and wastewater service will remain among the lowest household utility bills.” “We are committed to making appropriate investments to continue to provide safe, reliable services, while maximizing efficiencies to balance the impact to customers,” New Jersey American Water’s president, Mark McDonough, said in a statement. “Our effective capital planning helps keep water and wastewater services compliant with state and federal regulations, reliable amidst the challenges of climate and other impacts, and affordable for the 2.9 million people we serve.” — Ry Rivard PRISON CLOSURES BOOST ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRESS — POLITICO’s Marie J. French: Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration claims it is on track to achieve a 2025 energy efficiency target for state buildings, but many of the projects aimed at achieving that goal won’t be completed by then. One ostensible point of progress — that more than 10 percent of the reported headway is the result of prison closures — isn’t being viewed by advocates as a success story, either. “The fact that the progress towards this goal is primarily from facilities being shut down, means the state's not doing enough,” said Liz Moran, New York policy advocate with Earthjustice. “There needs to be more effort put towards the facilities that we have, adopting measures to cut their energy consumption and move towards more sustainable and renewable energy practices.” The New York Power Authority took responsibility for the goal codified by Hochul in a 2022 executive order. The authority required agencies to report progress under its BuildSmart 2025 initiative, but it hasn’t produced annual reports and discovered gaps in its own data after POLITICO began reporting on the initiative. New York state agencies have a vast portfolio of buildings — from state prisons to college dorms — that use significant amounts of energy. Reducing the amount of electricity, natural gas and other fuels used by buildings is a key part of the state’s climate plan. WATER COSTS RISE: The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities is expected to vote Wednesday on four different agenda items affecting five different rates and fees paid by New Jersey American Water customers. If approved, a typical residential water and sewer customer could see monthly bills rise by $10 in coming weeks and more next summer. Customers face a new $2.32 per month “Resiliency and Environmental System Improvement Charge” that would take effect next summer. That new charge comes thanks to a law Gov. Phil Murphy signed earlier this year to allow private water and sewer companies to request rate increases to pay for system resiliency, environmental compliance, safety and public health expenses. “This regulatory tool enables utilities to invest more quickly to comply with changing environmental regulations while spreading the costs into smaller, incremental charges,” Denise Venuti Free, a spokesperson for New Jersey American said in an email. The charge, which is capped by law at 5 percent of a utility’s total annual revenues, were criticized by the state’s ratepayer watchdog because it can be requested outside of the typical rate case. On Wednesday’s BPU agenda, that new charge appears alongside a rate increase for water and sewer customers that would take effect on Sept. 15, if approved by the BPU. A typical water customer (who uses 5,642 gallons per month) would see their water bill increase by 7 percent, or $5.33 a month. A typical sewer customer will also see their monthly rate go up by 7.6%, or $5.12 per month. Both increases, to be voted on as one, are likely to be approved because they result from a stipulation reached among New Jersey-American, the rate counsel and other intervenors. The BPU is also set to vote on two other charges for New Jersey American customers, which are several dollars apiece. — Ry Rivard FLASHBACK: This week, we reported on Leading Light Wind asking the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to pause deadlines for its offshore wind project, which the board approved in January. The requested pause comes as the project’s developer, Invenergy, is shopping for turbines after a price increase hit ones it planned to use. If the company can’t rein in costs, it could run into trouble with at least one of the BPU’s members who appears to have grown tired of companies coming back to state officials hat in hand to ask for more money as economic challenges undermined their initial bids. In January, BPU member Zenon Christodoulou warned companies not to play that game again. He told a packed room at the BPU offices in Trenton of “tyrannical oversight” of their progress and told them they should not expect to get another cent from the state beyond what the board approved that day. — Ry Rivard DECARBONIZE CUNY: A City University of New York union is joining forces with clean energy advocates to make the university’s aging buildings more environmentally friendly. The Professional Staff Congress and Public Power NY — a statewide coalition that includes the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America — want the university’s 300 publicly-owned buildings to be a top priority in a plan the country’s largest state-owned power company is expected to release this winter. CUNY campuses represent three of the 15 highest-emitting state facilities. “The disinvestment that is short-changing our members is also short-changing future generations,” James Davis, the union’s president, said. “We need to decarbonize CUNY — both by updating and improving our facilities, and by transforming the energy system on which they rely.” To that end, the union, which represents 30,000 faculty and staff, will hold 10 town halls citywide throughout September. Elected officials including state Assemblymember Robert Carroll, sponsor of the Build Public Renewables Act — a measure that gives the New York Power Authority broad ability to build and own renewable projects for the first time — as well as State Sen. John Liu and City Comptroller Brad Lander are slated to participate. The authority received more power following a public pressure campaign led by socialist organizers. The latest push is a sign New York socialists are laying the groundwork for the next phase of their campaign. The state must rely on 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 — and 100 percent by 2040. But officials conceded the state will likely miss that benchmark. A spokesperson for the governor’s office referred POLITICO to CUNY and NYPA. A NYPA spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. Noah Gardy, a CUNY rep, cited the institution’s work to reduce its carbon footprint and create greener buildings. “Like any large public institution, we face challenges upgrading our buildings but are committed to continuing to address climate changes,” Gardy said. — Madina Touré | 
