What's happening
This bill requires New York to prioritize energy efficiency programs, job training, and funding for disadvantaged communities and priority populations.
Why it matters
Targets Energy Equity. By mandating that energy efficiency funding and workforce opportunities be allocated in proportion to the share of residential and small business buildings in disadvantaged communities, the bill seeks to directly address historical inequities in access to clean energy benefits and job opportunities.
Links Efficiency with Broader Well-being. The bill lets the state fund non-energy interventions—like mold, lead, and asbestos remediation—alongside energy upgrades. This holistic approach could improve both housing quality and health outcomes in underserved areas.
Workforce Development with Accountability. Utilities and the state energy authority must prioritize hiring and training people from priority populations (including veterans, people with disabilities, young adults, and formerly incarcerated individuals) and report on their progress. The bill sets up regular audits and public reporting, aiming to create real job pipelines and transparency.
Tenant Protection and Community Stability. By requiring the state to track and report on tenant displacement and rent increases linked to energy efficiency upgrades, the bill recognizes and attempts to mitigate the risk of “green gentrification”—ensuring that energy improvements do not inadvertently push out low-income residents.
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Who cares
Utilities and the Public Service Commission
The bill would require proportional allocations of utility efficiency funding, training and hiring to disadvantaged communities or specified priority populations, with commission oversight and compliance reporting when training or hiring requirements are missed.
NYSERDA
The authority would face requirements for allocating efficiency funding, training and hiring, evaluating broader program benefits and mapping workforce gaps.
Veterans, low-income workers and other priority populations
The bill would direct shares of energy efficiency job training toward these groups and establish hiring requirements for program implementation.
Tenants in buildings receiving NYSERDA efficiency funding
NYSERDA would have to measure and publish findings on resulting rent increases and tenant displacement and recommend legislative action to avoid displacement.
Headline styles
Boost Energy Efficiency Statewide
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to energy and telecommunications
Full text
4 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1544
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 10, 2025
Introduced by Sens. PARKER, ADDABBO, BRISPORT, CLEARE, COMRIE, FERNAN- DEZ, GIANARIS, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HINCHEY, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON, KRUEGER, LIU, MAY, RAMOS, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, WEBB -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications
AN ACT to amend the public service law and the public authorities law, in relation to establishing energy efficiency measures by the public service commission and the New York energy research and development authority
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-x to read as follows:
§ 66-x. Energy efficiency program. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "energy efficiency" means the reduction in overall energy use, expressed as a percentage against a prior baseline of historical use, or in British thermal units (BTUs). Energy efficiency shall include environmentally beneficial electrification;
(b) "energy efficiency measure" means a particular good or practice that provides an energy efficiency benefit;
(c) "environmentally beneficial electrification" means a replacement of direct fossil fuel use with electricity such that the replacement reduces overall emissions;
(d) "disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five of section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation law;
(e) "residential building" means a building having primary use as a domicile;
(f) "small commercial building" means a building operated by a business or not-for-profit organization with one hundred employees or fewer; provided they (i) own their building or (ii) lease or manage all or part
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04478-01-5
of the building and have a release from the building owner to apply for financing through the program; and
(g) "priority populations" means groups that include veterans, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, unemployed power plant workers, previously incarcerated individuals, persons aged eighteen through twenty-four participating in work preparedness training programs, or residents of disadvantaged communities.
2. In order to stimulate the growth and adoption of a more efficient use of energy in disadvantaged communities and to promote the hiring and training of employees from disadvantaged communities and priority populations, the commission shall develop, oversee and issue guidelines to be used as part of any energy efficiency proceeding or utility program, which shall include the following elements:
(a) any job training funding administered by utilities for energy efficiency implementation shall serve individuals from priority populations or trainees living in disadvantaged communities, at a minimum proportional to these areas' percentage share of the total residential housing and small commercial building stock within the state;
(b) beginning three years after the effective date of this paragraph, installers, technicians, crew leaders, construction workers and apprentices hired for implementation of utility energy efficiency programs shall be from priority populations or disadvantaged communities, at a minimum proportional to these areas' percentage share of the total residential housing and small commercial building stock within the state, or from other priority populations and disadvantaged communities within one hundred miles of target work sites; and
(c) beginning three years after the effective date of this paragraph, require that any residential and/or small business energy efficiency program funding used directly for energy efficiency measures administered by utilities shall be allocated to disadvantaged communities, proportional to these areas' percentage share of the total residential housing and small commercial building stock within the state.
3. (a) In any calendar year that a utility is unable to meet the job training or hiring requirements pursuant to subdivision two of this section, such utility shall file with the public service commission a detailed report describing the activities and efforts made to comply with such requirements, including but not limited to information about outreach conducted in disadvantaged communities and among priority populations and areas where the utility publicized job and training opportunities. The utility shall also include a draft plan for how it will work with community partners and stakeholders to build up the qualified applicant pool to comply with such requirements during the next calendar year. The plan will be subject to a sixty-day public comment period after which a final plan that incorporates the public comments will be filed with the commission.
(b) The commission shall conduct a periodic performance audit ensuring that disadvantaged communities have access to the utility workforce development training, jobs, and opportunities pursuant to this section. The commission shall publish the results of each performance audit on the commission's website.
(c) The commission shall have the authority to adjudicate complaints and conduct investigations for violation of this section in the manner provided by the provisions of this article and shall have the authority to enforce the provisions of this section in accordance with section twenty-six of this chapter.
§ 2. The public authorities law is amended by adding a new section 1885 to read as follows:
§ 1885. Efficiency requirements. 1. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(a) "energy efficiency" means the reduction in overall energy use, expressed as a percentage against a prior baseline of historical use, or in British Thermal Units (BTUs). Energy efficiency shall include environmentally beneficial electrification;
(b) "environmentally beneficial electrification" means a replacement of direct fossil fuel use with electricity such that the replacement reduces overall emissions;
(c) "disadvantaged communities" shall have the same meaning as subdivision five of section 75-0101 of the environmental conservation law;
(d) "authority" means the New York state energy research and development authority;
(e) "small commercial building" means a building operated by a business or not-for-profit organization with one hundred employees or fewer, provided such business or not-for-profit organization (i) own the building; or (ii) lease or manage all or part of the building and have a release from the building owner to apply for financing through the authority;
(f) "priority population" means groups that include veterans, Native Americans, individuals with disabilities, low-income individuals, unemployed power plant workers, previously incarcerated individuals, persons aged eighteen through twenty-four participating in work preparedness training programs, or residents of disadvantaged communities.
2. In order to stimulate the growth and adoption of a more efficient use of energy in disadvantaged communities and to promote the equitable distribution of energy efficiency benefits, the authority may allocate funds to the non-energy related interventions in conjunction with energy interventions, including but not limited to mold, lead, and asbestos remediation pursuant to the recommendations of an integrated physical needs assessment performed by the division of housing and community renewal or other qualified agency; the authority shall further require that:
(a) any program funding for the installation of end-use energy efficiency measures administered by the authority with the goal of achieving the one hundred eighty-five trillion BTUs of end-use energy below the year two thousand twenty-five energy use forecast goal shall be allocated to disadvantaged communities at a minimum proportional to such areas' share of the state housing and small commercial building stock; and
(b) any job training program funding administered by the authority for energy efficiency implementation serve individuals from priority populations or trainees living in disadvantaged communities proportional to such areas' share of the state housing and small commercial building stock; and
(c) employees hired for implementation of authority programs for energy efficiency implementation are from disadvantaged communities proportional to these areas' share of the state housing and small commercial building stock.
3. The authority shall include resource impacts, non-energy impacts, distribution impacts and economic development impacts in any cost-benefit analysis utilized in designing or implementing any energy efficiency program initiated, updated, or revised subsequent to the effective date of this section.
4. The authority shall publish on its website data on non-energy benefits (NEBs) of home and building-scale energy efficiency programming as evaluated by the authority in cost-benefit analyses.
5. The authority shall perform a geographic analysis within disadvantaged communities to map and identify where workforce opportunities and gaps exist in energy efficiency and shall work with the existing workforce development programs, union apprenticeships, community organizations and regional hubs to fund pre-apprenticeship programs and community training for energy efficiency jobs based on the findings of such analysis.
6. The authority shall measure tenant displacement rates and rent increases incurred as a result of any energy efficiency funding received under this section. The authority shall publish any findings on its website and shall recommend to the legislature any necessary actions to avoid the displacement of tenants as a result of the energy efficiency funding received pursuant to this section.
§ 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not been included herein.
§ 4. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public service law and the public authorities law, in relation to establishing energy efficiency measures by the public service commission and the New York energy research and development authority
Purpose
The proposed legislation would help provide equity and jobs by prior- itizing communities most likely to be affected by this State's increased climate-related initiatives.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. Amends the public service law by adding a new section 66-u. The public service commission is directed to establish an energy effi- ciency program for utilities, in order to stimulate the growth and adoption of more efficient use of energy and to promote the hiring and training of employees by such utilities. The commission will develop, oversee and issue guidelines to be used as part of any energy efficiency or utility program and will set requirements for the hiring of individ- uals from priority populations.'
Section 2. Amends the public service law to outline reporting require- ments when hiring within a priority population cannot be accomplished as required by section 66-u of this article.
Section 3 provides a standard severability clause. Section 4 sets forth the effective date.
Justification
As New York moves forward to the clean energy demands of the future, it is imperative that we are mindful of those residents whose livelihood depends upon the currently dominant source of energy supply. Addi- tionally, we also must be conscious of those whose communities will be most affected by the new energy rules and regulations. This bill aims to provide equity and jobs to the people in those communities.
Legislative history
2023-24: S2469-COMMITTED TO RULES
2022: S3126C - COMMITTED TO RULES
2019/20: S8052-Referred to Energy and Telecommunications
Fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.