On April 9, an article by CBS publicized ongoing frustrations from small business owners who felt that they were being priced out of New York City by rising energy costs. They specifically cited climate legislation as the cause of these price increases, demanding that the state roll back some that were too ambitious for the short term. Officially called the New York Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the legislation was signed into law in 2019 by Kathy Hochul and mandates a 40% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels.
In the article, a business owner identified a monthly increase in their Con Edison bill as an effect of the climate legislation. Con Edison, one of the largest energy companies in the United States, announced earlier this year they would move forward with a 3.5% increase in rates for electricity and a 4.4% increase in natural gas for their consumers.
The company blamed these price hikes on the need to fund infrastructure upgrades and clean energy integration among other things — despite earning a whopping $12.8 billion in profits in 2025. This was a 7.5% increase from the previous year’s profits, which begs the question of whether sustainability was at the heart of these price increases. A study conducted by the MIT Sloan School of Management found that implementing standards for minimum green energy usage had “virtually no impact on prices,” while utility-wide implementation of renewable technologies would bring down electricity rates steadily. They also found that many of these new solutions are typically held back by outdated infrastructure, creating unexpected hiccups or price surges for counterintuitive reasons.
This would not be the first time that the energy industry has squeezed the populace under the auspices of accountability for a green future. These are the same bunch of conglomerates that coined terms like carbon footprint — shifting the responsibility for carbon emissions from the giant coal-burning plants onto the average person taking a longer-than-five-minute shower. These industries cannot be trusted to regulate themselves without having their long-term self-serving interests in mind.
It’s important to acknowledge that small businesses, the lifeblood of New York City, are more vulnerable to incremental increases in energy than larger corporations, and cannot keep up with rising costs. However, blaming laws that safeguard the environment and our futures is not the solution — especially under a federal administration that has just repealed the Environmental Protection Agency’s endangerment finding, which led to a rollback of emissions standards on all vehicles.
But there are ways to combat both issues with proper action from the state government: Instead of putting all of the responsibility on small businesses to navigate the challenges between climate change and corporate greed, the New York State government should push small businesses to change to clean energy.
The state already has the Green Power program, where New Yorkers can opt to switch to renewable energy services for pennies extra, actively supporting renewable energy systems. By further subsidizing these renewable energy services, the state could offer a competitive alternative to large, traditional energy companies, which also pressures them to lower costs for their services.
Additionally, the Green Power program should act more proactively and extend its outreach to different businesses offering to help them make the switch. By approaching these businesses’ doorsteps and offering to do the heavy lifting of changing to an equally priced or cheaper energy source, the state has the power to make real change in the energy industry.
Sustainability needs to be more than a casual effort made by individual members of the public to do better. Climate change is no longer a story of the future — it is here, and it can no longer be put off for short-term economic gains. The city’s affordability crisis is not a result of these regulations. Rather, it is a result of profit-driven actions taken to increasingly transfer the wealth from those fighting to stay in the city into the hands of the largest corporations. New York State must fight to stay on track of climate goals, without picking the pockets of the average New Yorker.
WSN’s Opinion section strives to publish ideas worth discussing. The views presented in the Opinion section are solely the views of the writer.
Contact Serin Lee at [email protected].