What Hochul Got Right on the Williams Pipeline
New York Governor Kathy Hochul approved a critical permit for a new Williams Companies natural gas pipeline this month. The decision triggered outrage from local environmental groups, who alleged the Governor had abandoned the state’s climate commitments by approving the permit.
Missing from the backlash was any acknowledgement of the painful increases in energy prices coming for New Yorkers in the coming months. Adding natural gas capacity through the new pipeline will play a critical role in addressing price spikes, ensuring reliability, and reducing emissions from other, more carbon-intensive energy sources in the Empire State, particularly from oil.
Advocates would, it appears, rather decry the Governor’s decision to approve the pipeline than offer viable alternatives to generate the power New Yorkers need, keep costs low, and reduce emissions. It is painful to grapple with the reality of climate change. But advocates are being intellectually lazy by pretending there are no tradeoffs needed in the energy sector, especially in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. Particularly for those who view climate as the top issue impacting Americans today – a vanishingly small percentage of the American electorate – it is imperative to look at the whole picture.
New York ranked seventh in the nation for electricity generation from renewables, and about a quarter of the state’s electricity comes from nuclear power plants. Construction is ongoing for a massive offshore wind farm, which would power more than half a million homes. Despite both political and logistical obstacles, New York has significantly grown clean energy deployment and reduced state-wide emissions.
Natural gas has helped: transitioning from coal to natural gas has helped reduce the state’s energy emissions by nearly 30 percent since 2005. Gas not only keeps the lights on, but also heats six in ten homes in the state. That will likely remain the case for the foreseeable future, since it’s unlikely many New Yorkers will spring for an electric heat pump during a cost-of-living crisis.
In many cases, natural gas is the environmentally-preferable choice for home heating. Roughly one in five New York families relies on heating oil, which is about 30% more emissions-intensive than natural gas. More access to natural gas means more families can access lower-emissions fuel for heating their homes.
Expanded pipeline capacity also solves an emissions-intensive infrastructural problem for New York. The state’s pipeline capacity is severely congested, obstructing the timely dispatch of natural gas when winter storms or extreme cold send demand is particularly high, as it is during winter storms. When congestion obstructs supply, existing pipelines get clogged, requiring fuel providers to inject compressed natural gas into the system, a more emissions-intensive process. The Governor’s pipeline approval is expected to significantly reduce the need for compressed natural gas in the state, resulting in further emissions reductions.
The most significant benefits of this decision, however, are economic. By expanding the supply of natural gas in New York, the Williams pipeline will lower energy costs for working people during times of peak demand. New Yorkers have seen their electricity and gas bills increase substantially since 2019.
Statewide, estimates show about a 10% increase in residential electricity rates between 2019-2024, adjusted for inflation. That number is compounded by surging utility-level costs like transmission, distribution, and grid maintenance, all of which have grown more burdensome as energy demand increases and the grid becomes more stressed. As a result, consumers are paying more for electricity. A lot more. Between 2019 and 2024, electricity prices increased for Rochester Gas and Electric Corporation customers by 31.20% over the same time period and just under 20% for New York State Gas and Electric (NYSG&E), adjusted for inflation. Those bills are only expected to go up as electricity demand further increases. Both Rochester Gas and NYSG&E have requested from regulators additional cost increases of more than 30% by the end of next year.
Home heating costs are also on the rise. Between December 2019 and the same month in 2024, residential natural gas prices rose about 18%, adjusted for inflation, driven by limited supply and growing demand. That’s in addition to whatever delivery charges, taxes, and fees families have to pay. The New York Public Service Commission expects New Yorkers will pay about $80 more this winter to heat their homes. If we don’t expand supply, families will see growing utility bills, with little relief in sight.
When costs are high, working people suffer – and decarbonization slips further out of reach. High electricity prices can cause emissions-reducing electrification projects to fall by the wayside. Families might put off that heat pump or EV purchase, and industry might delay upgrades. Lower costs make electrification more attractive, and, as a result, cheap electricity and reducing emissions are closely entwined.
Governor Hochul gets that. Many advocates do not.
The barriers facing clean energy deployment, both in New York and nationwide, are greater than they have been in almost a decade. But in combating climate change – as in all things – time is of the essence. We cannot let progress stall, and we cannot allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. The Williams pipeline reduces emissions and lowers energy costs. Complaints from environmental advocates do neither.
Josh Freed is SVP for the Climate and Energy Program at Third Way. Third Way is a national think tank and advocacy organization that champions moderate policy and political ideas.
