On June 23rd, the New York State Senate voted 38-23 to pass legislation (s.7565-a) that enables the state energy authority, NYSERDA, to work with utilities to establish a system of on-bill recovery that would allow homeowners to repay the cost of Green Jobs/Green NY retrofits on their utility bill.
“The Green Jobs /Green NY program Albany enacted last year was historic, and on-bill recovery is the key to unlocking the promise of 60,000 jobs, one million retrofits for homes and businesses, and $1 billion of energy savings for struggling families,” said Dave Palmer, Executive Director of the Center for Working Families. “Now the assembly needs to act to allow homeowners to pay back energy efficiency improvements directly on their utility bills.” The same-as bill in the assembly, a.11427, has been introduced by AM Cahill.
Most homeowners do not have the cash or the credit to pay for energy improvements upfront. But if Albany allows them to pay back the costs directly on their utility bills via on-bill recovery, hundreds of thousands of homeowners will gain access to green technology without the risks that come with imprudent loans. On-bill recovery is also expected to spur up to $5 billion in private investment in a state-controlled residential retrofit investment fund.
The group also supports PACE financing, which recaptures energy savings via property tax billing.
The Green Jobs – Green NY Act was signed into law last year with broad bi-partisan support was based on a proposal from the Center for Working Families and was championed by a broad coalition including the NYS Laborers, NRDC, the Pace Energy & Climate Center and the Working Families Party.
[...] bill. We remain optimistic that a reconciled bill will become law this summer or fall. Click here for the report on passage of the bill in the [...]