Neighbor News
Virtual Press Conference & Rally - Tuesday, February 2 - 12:00pm
New Yorkers to Cuomo: No more delays, release plan to get off fracked gas and on to renewables!
As progress stalls in an important statewide gas planning proceeding before the Public Service Commission (PSC), New Yorkers will come together to demand no more delays and that the state finally release a plan for a managed, equitable and affordable transition from fracked gas to renewable heating.
WHAT: Virtual press conference and rally
WHEN: February 2, 2021 at 12:00pm
WHERE: Online. Register here for Zoom link or watch livestream here.
WHO: Renewable Heat Now campaign and community members and elected officials from across New York State impacted by fracked gas infrastructure and harmful utility moratoria.
WHY: In March 2020, the Public Service Commission launched a proceeding to align New York’s gas system with New York's climate laws and goals.
The Renewable Heat Now campaign, along with 190 elected officials and 130 organizations from across the state, have filed comments within the proceeding outlining what people and communities need in order to move the state off fracked gas in an orderly and equitable way and ensure every household has access to affordable renewable heat and renewable energy.
Many of the growing number of New York elected officials weighing in on the statewide proceeding represent regions that have faced harmful utility moratoria and/or widely-opposed new fossil fuel infrastructure.
The New York State Department of Public Service was supposed to file a “White Paper” in the proceeding on August 17 2020, but has requested seven extensions. During the almost six month delay, climate change has devastated communities across the country, all while New York utilities continue to go in the wrong direction by spending hundreds of millions of ratepayer dollars on new fracked gas infrastructure.
Renewable advocates say it's like living in the movie "Groundhog Day." We keep hoping to advance off this one day, but every morning we wake up to the same lack of forward movement. Each delay is causing communities to lose time and options for meaningful climate action and that the delays in supporting an equitable transition to renewables hit low income New Yorkers the hardest. They are hoping New York State has used the seven deferrals to address the converging crises the state is facing.
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