Solar Energy is Our Best Bet in Fight Against High Utility Bills
One of the biggest news stories of the year was the rising utility bills across the country—and with no end in sight for more increases.
Electric bills nationwide jumped 9.6 percent on average this past year, thanks to elevated usage, infrastructure investments and higher energy costs. Household electric bills have outpaced growth and the rate of inflation, in fact, since 2021. As for heating a home this winter, those costs are expected to grow by 7.6 percent, and even more so for families heating their residences with electricity.
This is the affordability crisis in a nutshell: in December 2025 more than 1.3 million utility customers in New York were more than two months behind on electric and gas bills to the tune of $1.8 billion, according to a new AARP study.
That’s why utility customers—both households and municipalities—searching for a less expensive and more reliable form of energy are turning to clean, renewable energy sources, especially solar.
Indeed, this trend can be seen in the 2 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale solar that has been added to the grid nationwide since September, with 21 GW of solar installed already this year, eclipsing last year’s total. That’s 75% of all the new energy generation installed in 2025.
And in New York, the benchmark of six gigawatts of solar were installed a year earlier than planned; the goal of reaching 10 GW by 2030 is now in sight, years ahead of schedule. The benefits of New York’s solar ramp up were seen last summer during a major heatwave when distributed solar ensured the grid remained reliable and resilient by lowering the state’s peak electric load by 5% while reducing costs to ratepayers by more than $90 million.
Yes, it’s always about money. Renewable energy sources, like solar, are increasingly affordable. Thanks to big drops in start-up and operational costs for solar and wind, renewables are the cheapest new power source around the world. That’s right: a kilowatt-hour of solar is cheaper than a kilowatt-hour of electricity derived from natural gas, oil or nuclear power.
This leads to real savings for customers—around $1,500 on electric bills annually, according to a 2021 report. (Since then, electric costs have increased 30%, resulting in even more substantial savings.)
Keep in mind this real momentum on clean, renewable energy didn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of deliberate, sustained policy. We’ve shown what’s possible when government works in partnership with the private sector and local communities. It’s a synergy being driven by a certain reality—that we cannot expect to fight rising energy costs by making a slow transition to renewable energy sources like solar.
Nope, only an accelerated transition in renewable power, with modernized infrastructure and energy efficient technologies, will help us fight the affordability crisis by decreasing prices and increasing supply without the volatility of our legacy energy sources.
Finding ways in state government to advance our commitment to renewable energy has led me to focus on enhancing our solar footprint wherever and however possible. This includes introducing over a dozen bills that will benefit municipalities, ratepayers and small business entrepreneurs.
Among these bills is the Accelerate Solar for Affordable Power (ASAP) Act, which would raise New York’s distributed solar target from 10 gigawatts to 20 gigawatts by 2035 and implement common-sense reforms to lower costs and streamline deployment.
This legislation is about more than just hitting a number. It’s about making sure our energy policies reflect the economic realities of everyday New Yorkers. It’s about helping renters, small businesses, houses of worship, and co-ops keep the lights on and bills low.
And yes—it’s about making sure New York’s 15,000-strong solar workforce continues to grow.
Similarly, I have bills pending that establish tax credits for farmers who integrate solar power generation with agricultural production, remove barriers for municipalities in financing solar projects and allow school districts to install more solar arrays by shortening energy performance contracts—an initiative that was led by high school students.
Another common-sense way for municipalities to generate solar energy and save money is my bill that streamlines the process of solar arrays above parking lots at parks and recreation areas.
Governor Hochul recently signed my legislation to create a consistent property tax assessment method of solar and wind systems, which, again, will give local governments and developers more incentives to go with renewable energy systems. Also beneficial is my bill to mandate use of the popular SolarAPP+ program to enable quicker permitting for residential solar applications, which I’ll be reintroducing in the new State Senate session next month.
It’s simple: adopting more renewable energy, like solar, will result in lower utility costs for millions of New Yorkers. Energy providers relying on legacy and fossil fuel sources are banking on our grinning and bearing the next rate increase, and the next one…
Pete Harckham represents District 40 in the New York State Senate.
