| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Scott Waters | scott.waters@mail.house.gov | (845) 721-9247 Caroline Hunt | caroline.hunt3@mail.house.gov | (225) 244-1086 |
| Pearl River, N.Y. – 2/6/26… Yesterday, Congressman Lawler (NY-17) published an opinion piece in the Lohud warning that New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), passed with no clear cost estimate, is now saddling Hudson Valley ratepayers with massive utility rate hikes while undermining grid reliability and affordability. |
| READ: UTILITY PRICES CRUSH NY’S MIDDLE CLASS. WHERE IS ALBANY? “Consider this: The CLCPA required a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and an 85% reduction by 2050. In addition, it required 70% of the state’s electric grid to be powered by renewables in 2030 rising to 100% by 2040. Ambitious? Yes. Realistic? Not even close. Now, with NYSEG seeking another 24% increase in electric rates and a 34% increase for natural gas, the impacts of this disastrous policy are starting to hit ratepayers where it hurts — their pocketbooks. And it’s only going to get worse,” wrote Congressman Lawler. “Until Gov. Kathy Hochul and the Democratic majorities in the state legislature start prioritizing the needs of those they are supposed to represent, Hudson Valley families will continue to pay the price,” concluded Congressman Lawler. Congressman Lawler is one of the most bipartisan members of Congress and represents New York’s 17th Congressional District, which is just north of New York City and contains all or parts of Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Westchester Counties. He was rated the most effective freshman lawmaker in the 118th Congress, 8th overall, surpassing dozens of committee chairs. |