This year, New Yorkers experienced one of the coldest winters in recent history, and if last summer is any indicator, we are about to enter a season of record-breaking heat. For many Bronx residents, extreme weather means extremely high utility bills as folks crank up their homes’ heat or A/C. As many households in our borough face rising costs of living due to inflation and tariffs, New York needs a solution now.
About 1 in 3 (34%) Bronx residents have a high energy burden: they pay more than 6% of their annual income on electricity, natural gas, and delivered fossil fuels. The key to tackling the energy affordability crisis in the Bronx and New York lies in the state’s cap-and-invest program, proposed by Gov. Hochul back in 2023 as a way to make good on the promises of New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Plan (CLCPA).
The 2019 climate law, which aims to significantly slash planet-warming emissions by 2030, passed at a time when, similar to now, the Trump administration was helping energy and utility companies make money off of fossil fuels while people were stuck dealing with the increasing energy bills and air pollution.
Today, the administration is not only deepening our reliance on volatile fossil fuel energy but also attacking programs that help people pay for their utilities, weatherize their homes, and receive tax rebates for efficient heating and cooling equipment.
New York has a golden opportunity in the cap–and-invest program to help Trump-proof the state and ensure residents have access to clean air and affordable energy for years to come.
The program would require corporate polluters to pay for their fossil fuel pollution and then invest the proceeds into energy efficiency and building upgrades for residents, with at least 35% of those investments going to historically marginalized and disadvantaged communities, including many Bronx neighborhoods.
This works by requiring corporate polluters to buy permits for the amount of toxins they release into the air, and the money from those permits then goes back into New York communities through home retrofits, energy efficiency, and more. To think that we’ve been allowing corporate polluters to dump toxins into our air and harm our health for free all this time is absurd!
Beyond cleaner and healthier air, a robust cap-and-invest program also means money back in New Yorkers’ pockets while delivering transformative benefits for our communities. Right now, more than 1.2 million families in the state are falling two or more months behind on their energy bills, totaling nearly $2 billion.
In New York City, proposed rate hikes from utility provider Con Edison would increase energy bills by 12% starting in 2026, exacerbating the energy burden on working families. But if New York State advances a bold cap-and-invest program, households will get both direct energy bill relief and access to free or low-cost energy efficiency upgrades.
A recent report showed that a strong cap-and-invest program would save most households an average of $400 per year, and some scenarios indicate that families could save up to $2,000 per year, making housing and energy more affordable for everyone, especially those with incomes under $200,000. A well-funded cap-and-invest program will also generate more than $3 billion for disadvantaged communities across the state to invest in community-directed projects, such as green affordable housing, rooftop solar, electric buses, and bike lanes.
Activating a bold and ambitious cap-and-invest program in New York should be a no-brainer. With Trump’s recent attack on energy efficiency, clean energy rebates, and more, New York has a unique opportunity to lead on creating local, clean technology and contracting jobs and reduce the costs of energy for New Yorkers, all while cleaning up our air.
Unfortunately, the governor has been dragging her heels on cap and invest for the last two years. This is why Assemblymember Tapia and the Point CDC support the Cap and Invest Guardrails Bill, which would kickstart the program to avoid further delays.
New Yorkers deserve an ambitious program where polluters pay so working people can get relief from their sky-high energy costs and live in modern, safe, and affordable homes. New York needs bold leadership to unlock billions of dollars to help lower energy bills with clean, healthy heating and cooling technologies in homes across the state.
Tapia is a member of the Assembly representing parts of the Bronx. Vasquez is an environmental justice community organizer at The Point Community Development Corp.
