Blakeman joined local leaders, candidates to “cut utility bills in half”
From the Office of NYS Senator George Borrello,
OLEAN, N.Y. – Bruce Blakeman, the Republican nominee for Governor of New York, joined State Senator George Borrello, Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski, Republican Comptroller candidate Joseph Hernandez, Republican Lt. Governor candidate Sheriff Todd Hood, and representatives of New York’s energy industry Friday to call for an end to New York’s ban on hydraulic fracturing and a return to energy policies focused on affordability, reliability, and economic growth.
The leaders gathered in Olean to highlight what they described as the economic and energy consequences of New York’s decade-long ban on fracking despite the state’s location atop the Marcellus Shale, one of the largest natural gas formations in the world.
“The solution to New York’s affordability crisis is sitting right beneath our feet. The Marcellus Shale holds more than 9 trillion cubic feet of clean-burning natural gas, but Kathy Hochul’s fracking ban keeps that prosperity locked in the ground,” said Bruce Blakeman, Republican Candidate for Governor and Nassau County Executive.
“Instead of lowering energy costs, the Hochul administration approved 48 utility rate hikes and raised energy taxes by $4,100. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania used natural gas to reduce emissions, create hundreds of thousands of high-paying jobs, and save families nearly $9 billion on energy bills last year alone,” Blakeman continued. “As Governor, I will bring fracking back to New York, unleash our energy economy while protecting the environment, and cut utility bills in half.”
According to speakers, the policy has deprived Southern Tier communities of jobs, investment, and economic opportunity while contributing to some of the highest energy costs in the nation. Pennsylvania’s natural gas and oil industry now supports more than 400,000 jobs, contributes more than $77 billion annually to that state’s economy, and has generated nearly $3 billion through its impact fee program for local governments, infrastructure improvements, emergency services, and other projects.
“New York sits atop one of the largest natural gas formations in the world, yet Kathy Hochul and her Democrat colleagues have spent years ensuring New Yorkers cannot benefit from it,” said State Senator George Borrello, who represents the 57th District. “Pennsylvania is just a stone’s throw from where we’re standing today. The communities on the other side of that border sit atop the same resource, yet their economy has been transformed by the jobs, investment, and growth that natural gas development has brought. Here in New York, Kathy Hochul and her party chose radical environmentalism over opportunity. The result has been energy costs that are 70 percent higher than the national average and growing concerns about the reliability of our electric grid.”
Speakers also pointed to recent warnings from the New York Independent System Operator regarding dangerously shrinking reserve margins, declining generation capacity, and increasing reliability concerns as electricity demand continues to grow.
“The choice facing New Yorkers could not be clearer,” Borrello said. “We can continue down Kathy Hochul’s path of higher utility bills, shrinking energy supplies, and economic decline, or we can choose a new direction. Bruce Blakeman and our Republican team are ready to unleash New York’s energy potential, lower costs for families and businesses, create good-paying jobs, and restore the affordable, reliable energy that is essential to economic growth. New York’s energy crisis was created by bad policy, and it can be solved with new leadership.”
