“Today’s vote was an admission of reality.

For years, many of us warned that the timelines and mandates tied to the CLCPA were disconnected from what our power grid, economy and working families could realistically sustain. Now, Albany is being forced to acknowledge what New Yorkers already feel every single month when they open their utility bills: the state’s energy agenda was moving too fast, with too little concern for affordability and reliability.

That is why I supported this bill.

There are meaningful changes in it, particularly the decision to extend several of the state’s unrealistic energy deadlines. Those adjustments provide needed flexibility and help prevent even more immediate pressure from being placed on ratepayers and local economies.

But let’s not pretend this fully solves the problem.

Simply pushing deadlines further into the future does not erase the cost of the mandates themselves. Utility companies are still being required to comply with sweeping state directives, and those costs will continue to trickle into our livelihoods.

Regardless of my vote, we still need an all-of-the-above approach that prioritizes affordability.

This bill is a course correction, and I believe supporting it was the responsible vote. But ultimately, continuing to delay unworkable policies is not the same as fixing them.”