Stefanik hits Hochul on energy ahead of $800/year utility hikes, as gov blames tariffs
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Elise Stefanik launched a broadside this week against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s energy policies. She criticized Hochul’s continued ban on fossil fuel exploration and her...
By Fox News · Fox News
New York Republican gubernatorial candidate Elise Stefanik launched a broadside this week against Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s energy policies. She criticized Hochul’s continued ban on fossil fuel exploration and her broader record on the energy sector as state utilities announced another major rate hike for homeowners. The New York State Public Service Commission announced that several utility companies have proposed monthly delivery charge increases ranging from 34% to 48%, according to reports in multiple upstate news outlets. KEY TRUMP ALLY JUMPS INTO NEW YORK GOVERNOR'S RACE DAYS AFTER SHOCKING MAMDANI MAYORAL VICTORY Stefanik, a North Country congresswoman who is the first major candidate to challenge the incumbent, cited reports in upstate media that New Yorkers must again brace for approximately 40% hikes in utility costs in 2026 – an increase of $800-1,000 for most residents, she said. "Kathy Hochul's billion-dollar Green New Deal policies that ban gas stoves and ban natural gas fracking are already driving up New York's energy costs, which are the most expensive in the country," Stefanik said. "At a time when New Yorkers are living in one of the most unaffordable states in the nation, Kathy Hochul’s New York might get even more expensive." Stefanik called the energy situation in New York a paramount concern amid a greater "affordability crisis" statewide. She noted Hochul continued the Cuomo-era ban on natural gas fracking, which largely covers the multi-state Marcellus Shale deposit that itself is named for a town in Onondaga County where it is centered. While former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf enacted a moratorium on fracking specifically on state parklands, New York’s neighbor continues to see private fracking operations in action particularly just below their shared border, leading critics to point to the economic disparities between communities on the NY-17 corridor and those to the south. STEFANIK TO RELEASE NEW BOOK ON COLLEGE ANTISEMITISM AS SHE…