FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 17, 2025
Contact: Jama Joseph, 646-951-1648, jama.joseph@weact.org
ALBANY, NY – Today, WE ACT for Environmental Justice – along with fellow environmental advocates from the Renewable Heat Now coalition and beyond – is celebrating the passage of legislation (S.8417/A.8888) that eliminates the 100-foot rule, part of the State’s Public Service Law that had required utilities to build a gas pipeline to any building or home within 100 feet of an existing gas main at an expense of $200 million per year – paid for by ratepayers across the state. Under this new legislation, which amends the Public Service Law, a utility will still be obligated to provide gas service to any building within 100 feet of an existing gas line but only if they request gas service, provided that those requesting the service agree to pay for the material and installation costs of installing that gas line.
“Having passed New York State’s All-Electric Buildings Act, which will go into effect for buildings under seven stories in 2026, there should be no need for utilities to build gas lines to these new buildings, let alone forcing ratepayers to foot the bill for this unnecessary infrastructure,” explained Cameron Clarke, NY HEAT Campaign Coordinator at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “This legislation will save New Yorkers $200 million per year. And while this does not do enough to directly address New York’s energy affordability crisis, it will help some of the 1.4 million New Yorkers who are struggling to pay their energy bills.
“We would like to thank the sponsors of this bill, Senator Liz Krueger (D/WF-28) and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon (D-52),” added Clarke. “And now we urge Governor Hochul, who has publicly committed to making our state more affordable, to sign this legislation into law.”
WE ACT will continue to advocate for equitable energy affordability measures, including the remaining two elements of the NY HEAT Act: ensuring that energy bills do not 6 percent of household income, which would directly address New York’s energy affordability crisis; and ending the obligation to serve gas, which would give utilities more flexibility in transitioning communities from natural gas to renewable energy, as mandated by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
# # #
WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan-based, membership-driven organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents are meaningfully included in the development of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.