June 22, 2010
Two dozen community members, unemployed workers and advocates protested in front of Con Edison’s Manhattan headquarters today, decrying Con Ed’s efforts to block passage of New York State’s on-bill recovery legislation (s.7565/a.11427), which would unleash the job creation and energy savings potential of Green Jobs/Green NY, a massive new statewide energy efficiency program.
“On-bill recovery legislation will unlock the $1.1 billion a year in home energy savings that Green Jobs/Green NY is poised to deliver,” said Emmaia Gelman, Policy Director at the Center for Working Families which created the blueprint for the program. “On-bill recovery is the only safe, manageable energy financing for many struggling homeowners — and the only way for tens of thousands of NY homeowners to afford energy-saving retrofits. Without it, the Green Jobs-Green NY will tank, and the promised savings and jobs will disappear.”
Con Edison is opposing the legislation by advocating a series of amendments that would effectively shut down the Green Jobs-Green NY program. The on-bill legislation is at least cost-neutral for utilities, meaning that utilities can recover any costs they incur under the program.
“High utility bills are a huge burden on New York’s struggling families, and a major reason why there has been a 50% increase in the use of food pantries and soup kitchens in the city over the last two years. And many of our guests need jobs, especially jobs with a future. The Green Jobs / Green NY with on-bill recovery would help solve both those problems. It’s a justice issue, pure and simple,” said Mark Dunlea, director of the Hunger Action Network.
Green Jobs/Green NY — an energy program garnering national acclaim – will allow moderate and middle income homeowners and small businesses to obtain energy upgrades, such as insulation and air sealing, without the need for large amounts of capital or risky loans. The program will also create 60,000 job years in the home performance industry and related fields.
In order to secure these jobs and energy savings, the state legislature must enable New York utility customers to pay back a Green Jobs-Green NY retrofit loan on their utility bill. The monthly repayment amount would match the savings, so homeowners wouldn’t feel a pinch as they repaid the loan.
Utility consumer safeguards would apply to the repayments, protecting vulnerable borrowers who might need to make a late payment, and allowing borrowers to secure loans without using their homes as collateral. “On-bill” credit would be available to homeowners who demonstrated a solid history of paying their utility bills, even if their incomes or home values have fallen too low to qualify for bank loans. The Public Utility Law Project, the main ratepayer advocacy group in the state, is a strong supporter of this legislation.
The 60,000 new construction jobs — created as on-bill recovery generates tens of thousands of new customers for contractors — would also be a boon to low-income New York City neighborhoods and economically-distressed upstate and western New York communities.
“The Green Jobs Green New York program has the potential to create true pathways out of poverty for thousands of New Yorkers by connecting them to high quality training and career ladder jobs that pay a family supporting wage at a time when jobs are all too hard to find. This is a case of what is good for the environment and homeowners being good for working families. Instead of undermining the program, Con Edison should be working with communities to pass this groundbreaking legislation that will help put thousands of New Yorkers to work,” said Byron Silva of the Laborers Local 10, New York City’s new residential local.
This legislation is a follow-on to last year’s Green Jobs/Green NY Act, which created the Green Jobs/Green NY program. The program is expected to bring up to $5 billion of private investments to New York State’s Retrofit Fund, retrofit one million homes and businesses in 5 years, create 60,000 job years and help combat climate change.
Check out our fact sheet on on-bill recovery, a list of on-bill recovery supporters, and a memo in support of on-bill recovery from the Public Utility Law Project.
For more information contact Chloe Tribich: chloe@cwfny.org // (212) 206-9168×14 (office) // (347) 573-0773 (cell).
