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From: Anthony Kownack, Corning Place Communications

Subject: Weekly Articles of Interest (New York Propane Gas Association)

Date: July 14, 2023

Bill,

Below, please ind a compilation of articles, issued this week, that may be of interest to you. Articles
are also hyperlinked within each headline.

Thank you,

Anthony

Weekly Articles of Interest Include:

 At hearing, lawmakers weigh New York's energy future
 Queens borough president clears the air on controversial ‘pizza bill’
 Opinion: Emergency Preparedness is Not Enough—NY Needs Real Climate Action
 Lawmakers aim to lower utility costs
 The Energy Transition Is Underway. Fossil Fuel Workers Could Be Left Behind.

At hearing, lawmakers weigh New York's energy future

Nick Reisman
State of Politics
July 11, 2023

New York's top utility regulator Rory Christian acknowledges the transition to cleaner and
renewable forms of energy in the coming decades and how that will affect ratepayers in
New York will present complications.
"I think that might be one of many challenges we have to face and we're going to need to
look at this from a variety of different perspectives," he said. "It's going to require an all-
of-government solution."
New York state officials and lawmakers want a future powered by renewable energy. But
how this could ultimately affect the bills New Yorkers pay remains unclear under an effort
to curtail the effects of climate change.
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State lawmakers at a hearing on Tuesday took stock of utility costs facing New Yorkers,
with spikes over the last several years attributed in part to the invasion of Ukraine by
Russia as well as increasingly extreme weather.
But looming over the conversation has been the future: ending the use of natural gas and
other fossil fuels. New Yorkers may not be aware of what this will all mean, Assemblyman
Ken Zebrowski said.
"The average person out there that's just paying their bill, I don't think they've really
understood this yet," he said.
All-electric building construction rules for new homes and buildings under seven stories
will take effect starting next year. The provision has raised questions over energy
transmission and reliability as gas appliances are also phased out.
"We can't just be in one camp or the other," Zebrowski said. "We need to guarantee
reliability. We need to make sure we're transitioning to clean energy, and we need to affect
these affordability issues for consumers."
But lawmakers, including Assemblywoman Pat Fahy, can also point to the effect on the
economy, especially in upstate communities. The construction and shipment of offshore
wind components to Long Island is expected to create 500 jobs in Albany alone.
The state is backing massive off-shore wind projects in order to meet key energy
benchmarks.
"Those should not be temporary jobs, those should be permanent jobs," she said. "New
York state wants to build massive off-shore wind projects off the coast of Long Island in
order to meet key benchmarks."

Queens borough president clears the air on controversial ‘pizza bill’

Ryan Schwach
Queens Eagle
July 11, 2023

Pizza recently became a hotter topic than usual in New York after some believed that a new
city edict aimed to help air quality would create a crackdown on the city staple, unfairly
punishing pizza slingers and lovers alike.

Now, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, who authored the bill as a councilmember
in 2015, is looking to clear the air.
Though the bill doesn’t ban wood-fire or coal-fire pizza from being served in the five boroughs,
it does require that the owners of such pizza establishments retrofit their ovens to help make
the city’s air cleaner.

The bill, which Richards wrote while he was the chair of the Environmental Protection
Committee, updated the city’s air code and was intended to help diminish small amounts of
potentially harmful particulate matter that comes from everything from ovens to school
buses.
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“This is about ensuring that we can preserve workers’ and customers' lives,” said Richards in a
phone conversation with the Eagle. “We're being told to mask up again because of the wildfires
in Canada. We have that responsibility also to protect and to ensure that no matter what your
socioeconomic statuses or your ZIP code that you have access to clean air.”

“Every little bit counts,” he added.

Part of the bill, which the Department of Environmental Protection is soon going to begin
enforcing, requires the retrofitting of wood-fire and coal-fire ovens, which are used in some
pizzerias, but according to Richards, not many.

“Pizza is such a minute part of the bill,” he said. “This is not going to have some widespread
impact on the pizza industry across the city.”
According to Richards, only around 60 pizza places may be affected citywide. Richards added
that classic “New York-style Pizza” is not made with wood- or coal-fire grills, but rather with
gas or brick ovens.

“When people say this is just all about trying to take away our pizza, no, this is about
addressing smaller pieces of particulate matter which absolutely do have impacts, especially at
a local community level,” Richards said.

Although some businesses will be affected, Richards argues it is worth the burden to make an
impact on air quality in New York City and to cut back on the number of residents impacted by
poor air quality.

“We are all going to pay for this, so I would say $20,000 to retrofit…for those 50 or 60 [places],
but the price tag of $20,000 for them or $20 billion for the federal government,” he said.
“Taxpayers are going to pay for this regardless.”

Richards also hopes there are ways to help the businesses as well, including through Small
Business Services grants or low interest loans.

“Maybe there are tools we can do to ease that a little bit,” he said.
Richards has spent the past several weeks defending the bill to a number of people, including a
presidential candidate.

Florida Governor and Republican candidate Ron DeSantis chowed down on a Grimaldi's slice
and criticized the city’s bill on FOX News recently, causing Richards to fire back via Twitter.

“It’s turned into political theater, as if somebody's coming for pizza,” Richards told the Eagle.
“All these MAGA Republicans who are climate deniers, who at the end of the day, deny climate
change but when their states or cities are hit with natural disasters are the ones coming to the
federal government, asking for money and trying to deny New York City its money.”
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“This guy [DeSantis] is in no position to talk about the government trying to regulate everyday
people's lives when he is doing that in Florida,” Richards added. “He is going to need more
toppings to win his presidential election.”

Opinion: Emergency Preparedness is Not Enough—NY Needs Real Climate Action

Lincoln Restler and Alex Beauchamp
City Limits
July 12, 2023

Emergency preparedness and responses are crucial, but they do not prevent these climate
emergencies from happening in the first place. Decisive climate action does. We need real
commitments from our leaders to transition New York off the fossil fuels supercharging the climate
crisis and health-harming pollution.

On Wednesday, the New York City Council is holding an oversight hearing on the Adams’
administration’s response to June’s smoke-filled apocalyptic air. It is imperative that the Council
review the mayor’s response to assess what should have been done to protect New Yorkers.

But even if the mayor had taken appropriate, proactive, and timely steps to keep New Yorkers
informed and protected, it would not have been enough. Emergency preparedness and responses
are crucial, but they do not prevent these climate emergencies from happening in the first place.
Decisive climate action does. We need real commitments from our leaders to transition New York
off the fossil fuels supercharging the climate crisis and health-harming pollution.

It’s only the second week of July, but we’re already well into a summer of fossil fuel-driven
extremes. June’s wildfire smoke had us choking on toxic air, even inside our homes. Last week’s
heat wave—part of the planet’s hottest week on record—not only had us sweating as soon as the
sun came up, but it came with another round of fossil fuel-driven dangerous air quality.

Poor air quality and heat waves impact all of us, but low-income New Yorkers—who are more
likely to have asthma or other respiratory conditions and can’t afford to stay indoors running air
conditioners and air purifiers all day—suffer the most. These are the New Yorkers that the Adams
Administration should have had in mind when the smoke arrived in June.

There are clear steps that local government can take during these events, from opening up cooling
centers with purified air, ordering a “Code Red” to ensure the street homeless have safe access to
shelter and distributing masks. There must also be clear communication and education so New
Yorkers can be better prepared when we’re thrown into a dangerous climate event. These are only
stopgap measures, but they can save lives.

City and state officials are quick to cast blame and remind New Yorkers that these events are due to
climate change, but New Yorkers don’t need reminders. The families of the 370 New Yorkers who
died last year from heat-related deaths especially don’t need reminders, nor do those of the
estimated 1,000 who die each year from respiratory and other health problems caused by air
pollution.

These reminders rang especially empty after Gov. Kathy Hochul attempted to roll back New York
State’s landmark Climate Law earlier this year. And just earlier this summer, the same week the sky
turned orange and the city’s asthma ER visits doubled, the state failed to pass the NY HEAT Act,
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crucial legislation that would seriously reduce New York’s contributions to climate change and save
future lives. To truly address climate change and prevent future harm, our state and local
government need to take bold, meaningful action.

The NY HEAT Act would stop the expansion of the dirty, toxic fracked gas system that heats up the
planet, increases the likelihood for wildfires, and harms our health. On top of that, the Act would
lower utility bills by eliminating $200 million in subsidies for gas expansion that we all pay in our
monthly gas bills. And low and middle income New Yorkers would have their utility bills capped at
6 percent of monthly income, saving up to $75 per month—freeing up money for food, rent, and
medicine. These households are the most impacted by volatile gas prices and high energy
bills, paying three times more of their income on energy bills than other families.

Stopping gas expansion will go a long way toward fighting climate change in New York, where one-
third of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings. The state passed the All-Electric
Building Act earlier this year to ensure new buildings will use clean, non-fossil fueled energy
sources, but that work is not complete without the NY HEAT Act. The numbers are even more
staggering in New York City, where fossil fuels used to heat, cool, and power buildings generate
nearly 70 percent of the city’s climate-heating pollution.

That’s why we also need Mayor Adams to step up and fully implement and enforce Local Law 97.
Local Law 97, passed in 2019, requires large buildings to reduce their energy usage and emissions,
which will help New Yorkers save even more money over time and enable the city to fight climate
change more effectively.

In District 33 (Councilmember Restler’s District), we’re working hard to educate building owners
on how to make energy efficiency upgrades and access financing to invest in cost-saving building
improvements, but we need similar efforts citywide. This is our city’s landmark climate law, and
Mayor Adams must not cave to the corporate real-estate lobby fighting to gut it. Instead, Mayor
Adams must fully implement and enforce Local Law 97 to protect the lives and livelihoods of New
Yorkers.

The climate crisis requires more than empty words and the too-little-too-late warnings we’re
getting in New York. Without action to curb our reliance on the fossil fuels supercharging this crisis,
this hot, toxic summer is only going to get hotter, more expensive, and more dangerous.

Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams must step up, pass NY HEAT, and fully implement Local Law 97.

Lincoln Restler represents the 33rd Council District and is co-chair of the Council’s Progressive
Caucus. Alex Beauchamp is the Northeast Region Director at the national environmental advocacy
group Food & Water Watch.

Lawmakers aim to lower utility costs

Amal Tlaige
News 10 ABC
July 11, 2023

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) — We all know the hefty fees associated with utility costs. Members of the
state assembly held a hearing Tuesday, gathering feedback from experts on ways they can reduce
those costs, especially as New York makes strides towards a greener future.
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There are six major utility companies in New York, all charging different fees that are expected to
rise. “About 2 million New Yorkers are paying over 10% of their income on energy, even though the
goal even now is six percent, so we have to make those investments to get that down further,” said
Assemblywoman and sponsor of the bill, Pat Fahy. The New York Heat Act would cap utility costs
for low or moderate income New Yorkers to six percent of their income. A goal that’s backed by the
Public Service Commission. That bill passed in the Senate this past session, but not the Assembly.

Liz Moran, NY policy advocate with Earth Justice told Capitol Correspondent Amal Tlaige, every day
New Yorkers are paying the most into the system even though they’re not the biggest users. “The
biggest users are often heavy industry and so on. But we’re paying the most for this system. So NY
Heat gets at that by capping utility bills while also getting rid of some of the really costly subsidies
that are keeping New Yorkers on the gas system right now,” she said. Moran said for those looking
to move away from fossil fuels and into renewable energy, the NY heat act will ensure they don’t get
overly burdened by energy costs, “So this is an important tool in creating equity across the state, as
we get away from fossil fuels, heating and powering our homes.”

There are programs New Yorkers can look into to reduce utility costs however Moran says the state
can do much more. “We need to see the state ramp-up efforts to provide funding, to ensure that
people can transition away from dirty and polluting frack gas systems in their homes while also
ensuring they can afford to make their homes more energy ef icient,” said Moran. The Assembly
Committee on Energy will have an additional hearing to discuss utility costs.

The Energy Transition Is Underway. Fossil Fuel Workers Could Be Left Behind.
Madeleine Ngo
New York Times
July 12, 2023

Tiffany Berger spent more than a decade working at a coal-fired power plant in Coshocton County,
Ohio, eventually becoming a unit operator making about $100,000 annually.

But in 2020, American Electric Power shut down the plant, and Ms. Berger struggled to find a job
nearby that offered a comparable salary. She sold her house, moved in with her parents and
decided to help run their farm in Newcomerstown, Ohio, about 30 minutes away.

They sell some of the corn, beans and beef they harvest, but it is only enough to keep the farm
running. Ms. Berger, 39, started working part time at a local fertilizer and seed company last year,
making just a third of what she used to earn. She said she had “never dreamed” the plant would
close.

“I thought I was set to retire from there,” Ms. Berger said. “It’s a power plant. I mean, everybody
needs power.”

The United States is undergoing a rapid shift away from fossil fuels as new battery factories, wind
and solar projects, and other clean energy investments crop up across the country. An expansive
climate law that Democrats passed last year could be even more effective than Biden
administration officials had estimated at reducing fossil fuel emissions.
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While the transition is projected to create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, it could be
devastating for many workers and counties that have relied on coal, oil and gas for their economic
stability.

Estimates of the potential job losses in the coming years vary, but roughly 900,000 workers were
directly employed by fossil fuel industries in 2022, according to data from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics.

The Biden administration is trying to mitigate the impact, mostly by providing additional tax
advantages for renewable energy projects that are built in areas vulnerable to the energy transition.

But some economists, climate researchers and union leaders said they are skeptical the initiatives
will be enough. Beyond construction, wind and solar farms typically require few workers to
operate, and new clean energy jobs might not necessarily offer comparable wages or align with the
skills of laid-off workers.

Coal plants have already been shutting down for years, and the nation’s coal production has fallen
from its peak in the late 2000s. U.S. coal-fired generation capacity is projected to decline sharply
to about 50 percent of current levels by 2030, according to the Energy Information Administration.
About 41,000 workers remain in the coal mining industry, down from about 177,000 in the mid-
1980s.

The industry’s demise is a problem not just for its workers but also for the communities that have
long relied on coal to power their tax revenue. The loss of revenue from mines, plants and workers
can mean less money for schools, roads and law enforcement. A recent paper from the Aspen
Institute found that from 1980 to 2019, regions exposed to the decline of coal saw long-run
reductions in earnings and employment rates, greater uptake of Medicare and Medicaid benefits
and substantial decreases in population, particularly among younger workers. That “leaves behind
a population that is disproportionately old, sick and poor,” according to the paper.

The Biden administration has promised to help those communities weather the impact, for both
economic and political reasons. Failure to adequately help displaced workers could translate into
the kind of populist backlash that hurt Democrats in the wake of globalization as companies shifted
factories to China. Promises to restore coal jobs also helped Donald J. Trump clinch the 2016
election, securing him crucial votes in states like Pennsylvania.

Federal officials have vowed to create jobs in hard-hit communities and ensure that displaced
workers “benefit from the new clean energy economy” by offering developers billions in bonus tax
credits to put renewable energy projects in regions dependent on fossil fuels.

If new investments like solar farms or battery storage facilities are built in those regions, called
“energy communities,” developers could get as much as 40 percent of a project’s cost covered.
Businesses receiving credits for producing electricity from renewable sources could earn a 10
percent boost.

The Inflation Reduction Act also set aside at least $4 billion in tax credits that could be used to build
clean energy manufacturing facilities, among other projects, in regions with closed coal mines or
plants, and it created a program that could guarantee up to $250 billion in loans to repurpose
facilities like a shuttered power plant for clean energy uses.
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Brian Anderson, the executive director of the Biden administration’s interagency working group on
energy communities, pointed to other federal initiatives, including increased funding for projects
to reclaim abandoned mine lands and relief funds to revitalize coal communities.

Still, he said that the efforts would not be enough, and that officials had limited funding to directly
assist more communities.

“We’re standing right at the cusp of potentially still leaving them behind again,” Mr. Anderson said.

Phil Smith, the chief of staff at the United Mine Workers of America, said that the tax credits for
manufacturers could help create more jobs but that $4 billion likely would not be enough to attract
facilities to every region. He said he also hoped for more direct assistance for laid-off workers, but
Congress did not fund those initiatives.

“We think that’s still something that needs to be done,” Mr. Smith said.

Gordon Hanson, the author of the Aspen Institute paper and a professor of urban policy at the
Harvard Kennedy School, said he worried the federal government was relying too heavily on the tax
credits, in part because companies would likely be more inclined to invest in growing areas. He
urged federal officials to increase unemployment benefits to distressed regions and funding for
work force development programs.

Even with the bonus credit, clean energy investments might not reach the hardest-hit areas
because a broad swath of regions meets the federal definition of an energy community, said Daniel
Raimi, a fellow at Resources for the Future.

“If the intention of that provision was to specifically provide an advantage to the hardest-hit fossil
fuel communities, I don’t think it’s done that,” Mr. Raimi said.

Local officials have had mixed reactions to the federal efforts. Steve Henry, the judge-executive of
Webster County, Ky., said he believed they could bring renewable energy investments and help
attract other industries to the region. The county experienced a significant drop in tax revenue after
its last mine shut down in 2019, and it now employs fewer 911 dispatchers and deputy sheriffs
because officials cannot offer more competitive wages.

“I think we can recover,” he said. “But it’s going to be a long recovery.”

Adam O’Nan, the judge-executive of Union County, Ky., which has one coal mine left, said he thought
renewable energy would bring few jobs to the area, and he doubted that a manufacturing plant
would be built because of the county’s inadequate infrastructure.

“It’s kind of difficult to see how it reaches down into Union County at this point,” Mr. O’Nan said.
“We’re best suited for coal at the moment.”

Federal and state efforts so far have done little to help workers like James Ault, 42, who
was employed at an oil refinery in Contra Costa County, Calif., for 14 years before he was laid off in
2020. To keep his family afloat, he depleted his pension and withdrew most of the money from his
401(k) early.
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In early 2022, he moved to Roseville, Calif., to work at a power plant, but he was laid off again after
four months. He worked briefly as a meal delivery driver before landing a job in February at a
nearby chemical manufacturer.

He now makes $17 an hour less than he did at the refinery and is barely able to cover his mortgage.
Still, he said he would not return to the oil industry.

“With our push away from gasoline, I feel that I would be going into an industry that is kind of
dying,” Mr. Ault said.