In 2017, natural gas supplied 40% of New York’s energy.
By 2022, according to the most recent information available form the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), more than 50% of the state’s energy was derived from natural gas. As for CO2 emissions? They’ve risen to beyond 30 megatons during that same period, eclipsing that mark in 2021.
What do experts like Gavin Donohue, the president and CEO of the Independent Power Producers of New York (IPPNY), point to as the main culprit for these spikes? The closure of Indian Point.
As residents across New York, especially the Hudson Valley, struggle to pay their utility bills, it is difficult not to ask, “what if?”
What if then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo hadn’t closed Indian Point and its reliable, emissions-free energy? What if State Sen. Peter Harckham had fought to keep the plant, its reliable and clean energy, and its approximately 1,000 high-paying, permanent union jobs open?
What if someone made an effort to modernize and reopen the plant in an effort to bring back that reliable energy, its good-paying jobs, and its prospect of lowering utility costs for the residents of the Hudson Valley and even New York City?
As it stands, Sen. Harckham has no interest in doing any of the above. As chairman of the New York State Senate’s Environmental Conservation Committee, he believes in doubling down on the state’s green energy policies, which have increased utility rates for all New Yorkers. To make matters worse, when offered alternative solutions to lower the costs being borne by New Yorkers, Sen. Harckham and his colleagues have repeatedly turned away legislative ideas offered by their Republican colleagues, including an amendment offered by Sen. Rob Rollison to suspend for one year the taxes and fees applied to residents’ utility bills, as well as a two-year tax holiday on the state’s green energy taxes.
The price of gas fluctuates, and that variability in the market is passed onto the consumer. Conversely, nuclear energy pricing is stable, and the energy that is being produced is reliable. That is why I was happy to stand with United States Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Holtec International CEO Dr. Kris Singh in advocating for Indian Point to be both modernized and reopened.
New Yorkers are feeling the harsh and direct impact of the Indian Point’s closure and the extremely poor planning by my opponent and Albany. Bringing the facility back online would have the direct impact of lowering utility bills for downstate residents, especially those living in Westchester County. It would also bring back the 1,000 jobs that our community is desperately missing. And it would make for a cleaner environment, which nobody is against.
Prior to its closure, Indian point provided 25% of the energy used in Westchester County and New York City; it was a reliable “base load.” Immediately following its closure, fossil fuel usage downstate jumped from 77% in April 2020 to almost 90% in April 2021. By moving from an emissions-free power facility, Albany politicians like State Sen. Peter Hackham did three things: they made it more expensive for New Yorkers to live in their homes; they made the environment dirtier; and they compromised the health of vulnerable New Yorkers by allowing more CO2 to be emitted into the air.
It is past time to revisit this energy mistake, formulating an actual plan, and reopening Indian Point.
Sergio Esposito is a candidate for New York State Senate.
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