Adapted from the NYSAC Budget Analysis Report
The enacted New York State budget amends the Environmental Conservation Law to update several key definitions, regulatory targets, and procedural timelines related to New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), highlighted below.
- 100-Year Time Frame: The method for calculating “carbon dioxide equivalent” for greenhouse gases is changed from a twenty-year integrated time frame to a one-hundred-year time frame.
- Greenhouse Gas Emission Limit: The definition is updated to exclude emissions from biogenic sources that are reported separately.
- Statewide Emissions Scope: The definition of “statewide greenhouse gas emissions” is narrowed by removing the requirement to include emissions associated with the extraction and transmission of fossil fuels imported into the state.
- Scoping Plan Updates: The Climate Action Council is no longer required to update its plan every five years. Instead, the law mandates the first update in 2028, with subsequent updates due every six years thereafter.
- New Reduction Target: The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is directed to promulgate rules by December 31, 2028, designed to achieve a 60% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by the year 2040.
- New Regulatory Considerations: When developing regulatory programs to meet these limits, the DEC must now consider several additional factors, including the affordability of programs for state residents and businesses and the impact on economic growth.
- Disadvantaged Communities Goals: The goal for these communities to receive the overall benefits of clean energy and efficiency spending is increased from 40% to 45%, and the mandatory minimum share of overall benefits these communities must receive is increased from 35% to 40%.
The budget also includes several additional energy policy changes, outlined below.
Protecting Our Wallets Energy Rebate (POWER) Credit
The enacted budget provides a one-time energy rebate tax credit for the 2026 tax year. To be eligible, taxpayers must have been a full-year resident in 2024 and have filed a timely 2024 tax return. The credit amount is $200 for joint filers or surviving spouses with incomes of $150,000 or less and $150 for joint filers or surviving spouses with incomes between $150,000 and $300,000. The credit is $100 for all other filers with incomes of $150,000 or less. The Commissioner of Taxation and Finance will determine eligibility based on 2024 returns and automatically advance the payment to eligible taxpayers.
EmPower Plus Funding
The budget includes $50 million for NYSERDA’s EmPower Plus program to help low-income families with clean energy, energy efficiency, heating and cooling, health and safety, and other related energy improvements.
Sustainable Future Program
The budget reappropriates $1 billion in capital funding for the Sustainable Future Program and provides an additional $1 billion in new funding.
Increased Flexibility for the Municipal ZEV Grant Program
The budget amends the Environmental Conservation Law to authorize DEC, in consultation with NYSERDA, to increase the cap on municipal electric vehicle purchases from $7,500 per vehicle to $30,000 per vehicle. The intent behind increasing the rebates is to incentivize the purchase of medium-duty and heavy-duty electric vehicles for municipal fleets.
Promoting Energy Affordability
The budget modernizes how utility rate cases are reviewed and resolved and requires each gas corporation and electric corporation to submit an annual energy affordability index showing the existing energy burden upon their residential customers.
Exempts Emergency Back-Up Generation from Siting Requirements
The budget exempts major electric generating facilities that provide emergency back-up generation for semiconductor manufacturing and fabrication facilities from the requirements of Article 10 of the Public Service Law, which generally governs the siting of major electric generating facilities. These provisions are temporary and are scheduled to expire and be repealed on December 31, 2030.
Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act
The enacted budget establishes the Blue Ribbon Commission on Residential Affordability through Energy Savings, also known as the RATES Commission, to study the causes and origins of rising utility rates. Its primary goal is to recommend specific actions or reforms that can be taken to reduce those rates for New Yorkers.
Establishes the Excelsior Power Program
The enacted budget establishes the Excelsior Power Program to reduce peak energy demand through the use of smart-grid technology. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is required to establish a program to reduce peak energy demand by remotely operating smart thermostats or other smart devices voluntarily enrolled by residential customers. Participation is strictly voluntary and requires the affirmative written consent of the customer. Customers must have the ability to manually override their smart thermostat settings during extreme heat or cold events without incurring any fees, charges, or penalties. Customers have the right to opt out at any time through a process that must be as convenient as the enrollment process.
The enacted budget establishes the Excelsior Power Program to reduce peak energy demand through the use of smart-grid technology. The Public Service Commission (PSC) is required to establish a program to reduce peak energy demand by remotely operating smart thermostats or other smart devices voluntarily enrolled by residential customers. Participation is strictly voluntary and requires the affirmative written consent of the customer. Customers must have the ability to manually override their smart thermostat settings during extreme heat or cold events without incurring any fees, charges, or penalties. Customers have the right to opt out at any time through a process that must be as convenient as the enrollment process.
