STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 641 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RYAN S, KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Energy and Tele- communications AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to enacting the "home utility weatherization jobs act" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "home utility weatherization jobs act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature finds and 4 declares that: 5 (a) The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) 6 requires significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, including a 7 40% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and an 85% 8 reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; 9 (b) The Climate Action Council Final Scoping Plan (Plan) deems it 10 essential that buildings make significant investments in energy effi- 11 ciency, and the Plan's integration analysis demonstrates that widespread 12 improvements to building envelope will reduce energy demand from the 13 building sector by 30% to 50% by 2050; 14 (c) Energy efficiency is and will continue to be a key and necessary 15 component of achieving the CLCPA's greenhouse gas emissions targets and 16 has proven to be one of the most cost-effective strategies available; 17 (d) Weatherization efforts that prioritize a whole-building approach 18 to reducing energy needs, such as through building envelope enhance- 19 ments, are an effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while at 20 the same time facilitating further emissions reduction measures such as 21 full electrification or hybrid heating systems by reducing heating load; 22 (e) Improving the integrity of the building envelope through upgrades 23 or retrofits may result in deep energy savings; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02457-01-5
S. 641 2 1 (f) While existing energy efficiency programs administered by the New 2 York state energy research and development authority are available for 3 low- to moderate-income (LMI) customers, there are some gaps in cover- 4 age, including LMI tenants who do not live in buildings covered by 5 existing LMI programs, individuals who do not qualify as LMI customers, 6 rental properties, and where existing programs do not remove or mitigate 7 up-front financial burdens for customers; 8 (g) Weatherization efforts can provide significant benefits to disad- 9 vantaged and other communities through the reduction of energy usage and 10 decreases in greenhouse gas emissions; 11 (h) Weatherization and energy efficiency projects can promote strong 12 economic development and good jobs for local residents, including resi- 13 dents in disadvantaged communities; 14 (i) Utilities' access to capital and to a trusted workforce able to 15 effectively execute projects, and experience with implementing energy 16 efficiency programs specifically, positions them well to develop and 17 implement programs to weatherize residential buildings; and 18 (j) It is therefore the intent of the legislature to remove legal 19 barriers to utility development of weatherization programs and require 20 the public service commission to authorize utilities to immediately 21 commence piloting the development and implementation of targeted utility 22 weatherization pilot programs to further the goals of the CLCPA. 23 § 3. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 66-x to 24 read as follows: 25 § 66-x. Energy efficiency weatherization improvements. 1. As used in 26 this section: 27 (a) "building envelope" means the assemblies, components and materials 28 of a building that form the thermal barrier between the interior space 29 of the building and the exterior environment, including but not limited 30 to walls, floors, roofing, foundation, windows and doors; 31 (b) "weatherization improvement project" means a project implemented 32 by a gas corporation, electric corporation or combination gas and elec- 33 tric corporation to improve the integrity of a building envelope or a 34 series of contiguous building envelopes, including but not limited to 35 locating and sealing air leaks, increasing insulation, weatherstripping 36 windows and doors and moisture control such as installing attic vents; 37 (c) "weatherization pilot program" means a program developed by a gas 38 corporation, electric corporation or combination gas and electric corpo- 39 ration for the purpose of implementing weatherization improvement 40 projects in targeted pilot areas, for a series of contiguous properties 41 which shall generally be no less than two hundred feet in the aggregate. 42 To the extent possible, the program shall be developed in coordination 43 with a utility non-pipe alternative project, including a thermal energy 44 network project, and shall leverage all local, state, and federal fund- 45 ing available; 46 (d) "targeted pilot areas" means the specific geographic regions 47 selected for the implementation of the weatherization pilot program. 48 Targeted pilot areas shall include: 49 (i) single-family homes and multi-family buildings built before nine- 50 teen hundred eighty located within disadvantaged communities as identi- 51 fied by the climate justice working group; and 52 (ii) a mix of urban, suburban, and rural regions. 53 Each dwelling in the targeted pilot area shall be eligible for the 54 weatherization pilot program; 55 (e) "energy audit" means a review of a series of contiguous dwellings 56 for the purpose of building a weatherization strategy which includes,
S. 641 3 1 but is not limited to, sealing air leaks, examining insulation, inspect- 2 ing all furnaces and ductwork, and upgrading heating and cooling 3 systems. Documentation of denial of access to a dwelling to complete the 4 review shall qualify as completion for purposes of this section; and 5 (f) "project labor agreement" shall mean a pre-hire collective 6 bargaining agreement between a gas corporation, electric corporation, 7 combination of gas and electric corporation or a third party on behalf 8 of such corporation or corporations, and a bona fide building and 9 construction trade labor organization establishing the labor organiza- 10 tion as the collective bargaining representative for all persons who 11 will perform work on a public work project, and which provides that only 12 contractors and subcontractors who sign a pre-negotiated agreement with 13 the labor organization can perform project work. All contractors and 14 subcontractors associated with this work shall be required to utilize an 15 apprenticeship agreement as defined in article twenty-three of the labor 16 law. 17 2. The commission shall initiate a proceeding within three months of 18 the effective date of this section to support the development of weath- 19 erization pilot programs for the purpose of meeting the greenhouse gas 20 emissions and equity goals of the Climate Leadership and Community 21 Protection Act (CLCPA). 22 3. Within six months of the effective date of this section, each gas 23 corporation, electric corporation, or combination gas and electric 24 corporation shall submit to the commission for review and approval a 25 weatherization pilot program plan. The weatherization pilot program 26 plans shall be made publicly available on the commission's website and 27 be subject to a public comment period of no less than sixty days. All 28 plans submitted to the commission shall include, but not be limited to, 29 the following: (a) the buildings and customers eligible for the proposed 30 program, which shall include a description of how the proposed program 31 fills existing gaps related to low- to moderate-income (LMI) customers 32 and other customers in targeted pilot areas; (b) a description of the 33 weatherization improvement projects to be included in the proposed 34 program; (c) a staffing plan identifying the workforce and specific work 35 to be performed; (d) maps of the locations of these projects, which 36 should target contiguous properties over entire street blocks; (e) a 37 description of job training or workforce development efforts necessary 38 to implement the proposed plan; (f) proposed total annual costs of the 39 program; (g) projected annual greenhouse gas emissions reductions 40 resulting from the proposed program; and (h) the projected savings on 41 pipeline and other equipment repair or replacement from the reduction in 42 usage. In developing weatherization pilot program plans, a gas corpo- 43 ration, electric corporation, or combination electric and gas corpo- 44 ration shall coordinate with other utility participants and the New York 45 state energy research and development authority. 46 4. Within one year of the effective date of this section, the commis- 47 sion shall determine whether it is in the public interest to approve or 48 modify such weatherization pilot program plans and shall issue an order 49 directing each gas, electric, or combination gas and electric corpo- 50 ration to implement such weatherization pilot programs. In determining 51 whether a weatherization pilot program is in the public interest, the 52 commission shall consider whether the program: (a) facilitates energy 53 reliability and reduces energy costs for customers in targeted pilot 54 areas; (b) supports the state's achievement of the greenhouse gas emis- 55 sions reduction goals of the CLCPA; and (c) promotes job training and 56 workforce development.
S. 641 4 1 5. The gas corporation, electric corporation, or combination gas and 2 electric corporation shall collect data to inform strategies for the 3 weatherization pilot program. Such data shall include: 4 (a) for every eligible housing unit: (i) if applicable, the number of 5 vacant units in a building and reason for vacancy; and (ii) whether an 6 energy audit was agreed to (possible answers include: yes, no: owner 7 refused, no: tenant refused, no: owner could not be reached, no: tenant 8 could not be reached, and no: other). 9 (b) for housing units that have undergone energy audits: (i) age, 10 type, and estimated retirement date of heating source or heating system; 11 (ii) any deferred maintenance, including, but not limited to: roof 12 repairs, vermiculite in attic, knob-and-tube wiring, mold in attic, 13 water in basement, asbestos tape in basement, and asbestos shingles; and 14 (iii) the results of the energy audit. Such data shall be anonymized 15 and aggregated by zip code and be made available on such gas corpo- 16 ration, electric corporation, or combination gas and electric corpo- 17 ration's website. 18 6. The commission shall authorize each gas corporation, electric 19 corporation or combination gas and electric corporation to fully recover 20 in the context of rate or other duly authorized proceedings the costs 21 associated with each such corporation's weatherization pilot program. 22 Each gas corporation, electric corporation or combination gas and elec- 23 tric corporation shall defer any unrecovered expenses associated with an 24 approved or modified weatherization pilot program as a regulatory asset 25 pending a subsequent rate or other duly authorized proceeding. All unre- 26 covered expense balances shall accrue carrying charges at such corpo- 27 ration's pre-tax approved rate of return. 28 7. Each gas, electric, or combination gas and electric corporation 29 shall report to the commission, on a quarterly basis, and until 30 completion of the weatherization pilot programs as determined by the 31 commission, the status of each weatherization pilot program. The commis- 32 sion shall post and make publicly available such reports on its website. 33 The report shall include, but not be limited to: (a) projects completed 34 pursuant to the program; (b) barriers to implementation, if any; (c) 35 costs of the program; (d) number of jobs retained, created or enhanced 36 by the program; and (e) any other such information the commission deems 37 to be in the public interest. 38 8. Any weatherization pilot program approved or modified under this 39 section shall require that energy audits are conducted by employees of 40 the gas corporation, electric corporation, or combination gas and elec- 41 tric corporation represented by a bona fide labor organization of juris- 42 diction that is actively engaged in representing the gas corporation, 43 electric corporation, and combination gas and electric corporation 44 employees. The use of contractors is prohibited except as necessary for 45 training or implementation of the program. 46 9. Every weatherization improvement project shall be subject to a 47 project labor agreement. 48 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.