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State Update
📌With the federal government dealing New York a big financial hit, Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado and some activist groups are calling for a special session of the State Legislature to deal with the situation. Don’t hold your breath. Gov. Kathy Hochul, as well as leading State Senate and Assembly leaders, say current law gives her administration enough fiscal flexibility to deal with federal cuts in the current fiscal year. Next year could be a different story, no doubt. But for now, even while decrying the federal hit on New York, leaders say there is no need to rush back to Albany.
📌With recent polling showing Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead narrowing against likely gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, the question emerging for Republicans is what path could yield the first GOP win of a statewide office in New York in more than two decades. Stefanik, who represents a sprawling North Country district, has said she’ll make a final decision on a gubernatorial bid after November’s elections. U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler — a moderate Republican previously considered by Democrats to be the GOP’s best shot for governor — has said he will seek reelection to Congress, clearing the field for Stefanik and another potential nominee, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman.
📌The state’s power authority has bolstered its portfolio of renewable energy projects — and is now racing the clock to get projects moving before the window for federal tax credit eligibility runs out. The New York Power Authority doubled its pipeline of renewable projects and energy storage in an updated plan released last month. Public power advocates urged the authority to double it again during public hearings this week. The authority now has 7 gigawatts of new renewables and storage in its proposed strategic plan, an increase of about 3,400 megawatts from the plan approved in January. The additions include the state's first new non-battery energy storage, a large portfolio of small-scale storage and several large-scale solar and wind projects with new partners.
📌Summer always increases electricity bills, as more people use electricity for air conditioning. But there’s another issue popping up this year: Not AC, but AI. Households are now competing against power-hungry computer data centers from the likes of Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft put strain on the grid to power new artificial intelligence projects. Add in the fact that New York and New Jersey have both shut down nuclear power and pursued expensive green mandates, and customers are seeing a big strain on their wallets.
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