ALBANY, NY - Senator Steve Rhoads, Republican Leader Rob Ortt along with Senator Mario Mattera, Senator Tom O’Mara, Senator Steve Chan, and Members of the Senate Republican Conference unveiled a package of legislation aimed at addressing New York’s outrageous energy costs and offsetting the effects of costly energy mandates out of Albany.

The legislative package, “Affordable Energy, Not Albany Mandates,” is part of the Senate Republican Conference’s broader 2026 legislative agenda entitled “Save New York,” a plan to improve affordability, enhance public safety, and build a stronger New York for today and future generations.

Several proposals in the legislative package would deliver immediate financial relief to New Yorkers by lowering utility bills. Senate Bill 8461A, sponsored by Senator Tom O’Mara, would return approximately $2 billion currently sitting unspent in state coffers for green energy programs directly back to ratepayers in the form of utility bill credits.  Additionally, Senate Bill 8463, sponsored by Senator Rolison, would provide a one year utility bill tax and surcharge holiday, similar to the state’s 2022 gas tax holiday, which was implemented when New Yorkers were facing $5/gallon at the pump. These measures would provide real and immediate relief.

“New Yorkers don’t need more Albany mandates — they need affordable energy they can actually rely on,” said Senator Rhoads. “Today, New York families and small businesses are paying 49 percent more for electricity than the national average, and those costs are being driven higher by one-size-fits-all policies that ignore reality. We need a diverse energy approach that embraces all energy options, with a clear focus on affordability and reliability, to chart New York on a better path forward. This legislative package delivers meaningful, common-sense solutions that will keep the lights on without breaking the bank and power a more affordable, reliable energy future for our state.”

New Yorkers are currently weathering some of the highest energy rates in the nation. Residential electricity rates in New York are 50% higher than the national average and rose 7.6% in the past year, faster than the national average. Since New York Democrats passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), electricity rates in New York have increased 45% – leading New Yorkers to pay 30-40% higher rates than our neighbors in Pennsylvania. 

Among the goals of the legislative package are to provide immediate ratepayer relief, increase cost transparency, and repeal costly mandates:

• S8461A (O'Mara) - Requires any surplus or unspent ratepayer funds remaining in NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Fund or any unspent funds collected by utilities be sent back to ratepayers as a bill credit. This bill would result in lowering New Yorkers utility bills by $2 billion at a time when New Yorkers are facing skyrocketing utility bills.
• S8463 (Rolison) - Provides a one-year utility bill tax and surcharge holiday and two-year green energy tax holiday. Government taxes and fees account for between 25 to 50% of a customer’s utility bill.  This bill would provide meaningful and immediate relief to ratepayers as they face skyrocketing energy costs.
• S7075 (Walczyk) - Repeals the system benefit charge.  The system benefit charge is a fee imposed on all ratepayers that provides money to NYSERDA and the PSC. Repealing such fees would lower utility bills.

• S1031 (Rolison) - Directs the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Comptroller to determine the cost of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) mandates for each ratepayer and to establish a credit for ratepayers and businesses to cover those costs.
• S1414 (Tedisco) - Enacts the Utility Ratepayer Protection Act, which requires legislative approval of increases in utility charges.
• S5515 (Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick) - Relates to providing transparency to residential utility and municipality ratepayers on the cost impact of the climate action council's scoping plan. 
• S5611 (Mattera) - Establishes the Climate Action Cost Council, which must meet quarterly and report on any CLCPA cost associated with any action taken by the Council.
• S6412 (O’Mara) - Establishes the “Ratepayer Disclosure and Transparency Act,” which requires annual reporting on state mandated energy programs.
• S6790 (Griffo) - Requires the superintendent of financial services to examine the Green Bank at least once every calendar year.
• S8447 (Walczyk) -Requires a fiscal note when a bill enacts or amends a law impacting the cost of utility services.
• S8936 (Rolison) - Increases transparency and accountability in utility billing by requiring all electric utility corporations, energy services companies, and municipalities to provide customers with a clear, itemized breakdown of their monthly bills.

• S1167 (Mattera) – Repeals All Electric Buildings Act.
• S3652 (Ortt) – Repeals the Electric Vehicle mandate.
• S4748 (Borrello) – Repeals the zero-emission school bus mandate.
• S8607 (Walczyk) - Repeals the $15 billion per year Cap-and-Invest program that will act as a tax on New York consumers.
• S7710 (Chan) - Prohibits the construction of certain energy storage systems within five hundred feet of a school or dwelling in New York City.

New Yorkers are being crushed under the weight of the out of touch decisions from Democrats in Albany, the Senate Republican Conference will continue to bring forward common sense solutions to offer immediate relief.