Hochul announces plan to cut energy bills

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a program on Wednesday that she said would cut electric bills for families in New York. It gives credits to poor households in underserved, poverty-stricken areas of the state.

“The NYPA REACH program will help ensure that low-income New Yorkers in disadvantaged communities will not be left behind as we make the critical transition to a clean-energy economy,” Hochul said in the announcement.

The Renewable Energy Access and Community Help (REACH) program, freshly approved by the Public Service Commission, will follow the structure of the Energy Affordability Program (EAP) and the statewide Solar for All program. Building on what's already in place should make it cheaper to run REACH, meaning the plan can deliver more money directly to people who need it.

Solar for All, run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, pools renewable energy credits to discount the bills of customers who are in the EAP. Announced in May, it aimed to save over 800,000 households at least $40 a year, once fully developed. That plan covers territories supplied by National Grid, ConEd, Orange and Rockland, New York State Electric and Gas, Central Hudson, and Rochester Gas and Electric.

Officials want REACH to also include moderate-income customers across the state as well as low-income ones as soon as more resources and renewable energy projects are available. The program relies on the New York Power Authority's (NYPA) expanded powers to develop and run renewable energy projects. That authority was granted in last year’s state budget, Hochul said.

NYPA President Justin Driscoll said, “The bill credits will be funded from a portion of revenues from new renewable energy generation projects developed by NYPA and designated for REACH.”

NYPA will manage the program and work with utility providers to implement REACH. Together with the Long Island Power Authority, NYPA also plans to bring REACH to Long Island.