New York's move toward electrification is a massive undertaking, and the timeline to implement it is aggressive. Under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the state must reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. That’s in less than seven years.
“It’s a crunch; it’s 78 months ‘till 2030,” said Bart Franey, the vice president of Clean Energy Development at National Grid. “That’s like tomorrow for us.”
To meet that goal, the state must electrify its energy grid. A grid that utilizes electricity can be powered by renewable energy sources like solar, hydro and wind, rather than fossil fuels. It’s the reason the new state budget includes a mandate to build new homes that use electricity rather than gas starting in 2026.
On Wednesday at the Renaissance Hotel in Albany, the publication City & State will be holding a major summit on electrification in New York. The theme of the event is how New York is building an affordable, reliable and equitable electrified future.
Franey will be one of the speakers.
“We need a lot of tools. A lot of tools in the toolbox, including some very aggressive energy efficiency. Customers have to play a big part in reducing usage or shifting usage," Franey said.
Building new infrastructure before 2030 is also key, according to Franey.
“I see this as being an all-hands on deck approach,” he explained. "It’s markets and private industry, but also you need regulated utilities to play a role in the transition.”
According to the recently passed state budget, starting in 2026, newly built homes will need to be wired for electric cooking and heat. While there is no requirement in statute to retrofit existing homes, it is mentioned in New York’s Scoping Plan.
But retrofitting can be costly. According to Cornell’s Dr. Bob Howarth, a member of the Climate Action Council, one idea would be to have utilities like National Grid pay for the retrofits, and then have ratepayers simply pay the utility back over time via their energy bills.
According to Franey, the utility typically lets consumers make their own decisions on investments.
“That would be something that would be totally up to the customer to do,” he said. “In some cases, it may not be cost prohibitive.”
Franey is referring to rebate and retrofit programs introduced by both National Grid and NYSERDA.
Here’s more information on both:
https://www.nysenergyaudits.com/service-category/national-grid-total-home-comfort-program/
https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy14osti/61172.pdf
https://www9.nationalgridus.com/non_html/2010_EI_Lighting_PIF_RI.pdf