Politics

New York Democrats Urge Gov To Delay Draconian Green Building Mandate

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Nineteen Assembly Democrats urged Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday to delay a harsh building electrification goal over affordability and reliability concerns.

Led by Assemblymember William Conrad, members across the Empire State warned in the letter that the electric building mandate banning gas appliances for most new structures starting Dec. 31, 2025, could strain New York’s grid and hike consumer costs. New York utility companies are reportedly struggling to meet the aggressive electrification mandate. If fully enforced, the policy could worsen existing strains on the power grid, some energy experts and state officials previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“New York’s gas stove ban is collapsing under the weight of its own hypocrisy. Even Democratic lawmakers are waking up to the reality that electrification mandates, driven by the state’s full embrace of Net Zero and decarbonization, are driving up costs and straining an already fragile grid,” Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, told the DCNF. “When the Assembly’s own majority leader is asking for a delay, it’s clear the climate agenda has run headfirst into the limits of physics and affordability. The governor should scrap this mandate altogether and put consumers first.”

Assembly Sign on Letter About All Electric Buildings by audreystreb

The “All-Electric Building Act” requires most new buildings to run primarily on electricity and ban gas appliances, with few exceptions, starting Dec. 31, 2025. New York enacted appliance regulations as part of its 2040 green energy mandate, and has some of the highest average utility bills in the U.S., according to data from Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The assembly members, including Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, have been urging Hochul to punt the mandate in recent weeks. Though Conrad and his fellow assembly members note that they generally agree with Hochul’s green energy goals, they argue that the building electrification timeline is too stringent and should be paused to allow for thorough grid and consumer impact testing.

The assembly members also asked that Hochul allow “clean energy” project build outs and permitting reform “before imposing blanket electrification requirements.”

Hochul stated she is “seriously” reviewing upstate members’ concerns with the legislation she first championed as a major climate victory in May 2023. New York is set to be the first state to ban gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings, though Hochul recently stressed the importance of affordability and reliability when it comes to energy policy.

“While I share the long-term goal of decarbonizing our state, I believe the imminent requirement to mandate all-electric new buildings must be paused pending thorough reassessment of grid reliability, cost impacts, and risk mitigation,” Conrad wrote in the letter. “The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has flagged serious concerns that warrant a more cautious approach.”

NYISO and Hochul’s office did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

NYISO President and CEO Rich Dewey noted his concerns regarding the state’s green energy goals in the operator’s annual grid report in June 2025, which the Monday letter references.

“NYISO makes clear that until zero-emission resources with dispatchable capacity are fully online, fossil-fired (or dual-fuel) generation will remain essential to maintain system reliability,” Conrad wrote in the letter. “According to NYISO’s Power Trends 2025, reliability margins are shrinking as fossil‐fuel generation units retire faster than clean resources can be deployed.”

Notably, other New York Democrats warned the state’s green energy goals are too harsh. Appointed members of the Climate Action Council wrote to New York’s Public Service Commission requesting the state’s climate goals be delayed in July.

While former President Joe Biden signed off on stringent appliance rules, including for gas stoves, the Trump administration and the GOP have targeted Biden-era regulations and vowed to take legal action against blue states if they enact appliance rules that it argues threaten domestic energy resources.

Marc Morano, author and publisher of ClimateDepot.com, told the DCNF that Democrats requesting climate policy changes and recent shifts in rhetoric over energy and environment issues signal the “end of the climate movement.”

“Et tu, New York Democrats? Bill Gates retreats from climate fears, and over 100 nations are currently failing to meet their UN climate obligations on the eve of COP30. Now New York Democrats are backing away from gas appliance bans!” Morano told the DCNF. “2025 has truly turned into the year the climate change agenda collapsed. Hochul sounds like a red state governor emphasizing plentiful energy and affordability. President Trump is literally presiding over end times for the climate movement.”