Key Points
- Last year, New York Democrats and Republicans fought over energy policy.
- Governor Hochul’s All-Electric Buildings Act reduces fossil fuels. It applies only to new construction. Existing homes and existing gas appliances are not affected.
- Rep. Langworthy’s (R-NY23) Energy Choice Act strips away state and local jurisdiction over natural (actually methane) gas hookups.
- Existing NY gas customers pay~$600M/year ($100 per customer) for other people’s new gas hookups in a hidden fee in their gas bills, “delivery charges”.
- Gov. Hochul signed a bill that repealed the “100-foot-rule” for new gas hookups and the hidden fee that pays for it.
In the chess game that is New York politics, Rep. Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY23) is locked in a match with Governor Hochul over energy policy. And it looks like a draw.
The All-Electric Buildings Act
In May 2023, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the All-Electric Buildings Act (AEBA). This law prohibits installation of fossil fuel equipment (such as gas stoves, furnaces, and water heaters) in most new construction, and requires all-electric systems. The rollout is phased: starting January 1, 2026, for smaller residential buildings (seven stories or fewer) and larger commercial ones, extending to taller buildings by 2029.
Hochul and supporters hailed it as a step toward cutting building emissions, which is a major source of New York’s greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases contribute to rising atmospheric CO2 levels, higher temperatures, climate change, melting glaciers, rising sea levels, and coastal flooding. The AEBA will lead to cleaner indoor air and energy savings through the use of efficient electric appliances, such as heat pumps.
Despite misinformation from opponents of the AEBA, such as Rep. Langworthy (during his November telephone town hall, he said, “And folks, they’re not going to stop with new construction. If you think they’re going to stop with new construction, I got a bridge to sell you. This is going to go back to retrofit…And make no mistake, the governor will be able to still use her gas stove when you can’t”), the AEBA applies only to new construction. It doesn’t ban or require us to junk our gas stoves or gas furnaces. We can keep our gas appliances and replace them when they wear out.
But the All-Electric Buildings Act is on hold. The natural (methane) gas industry sued, and even though the federal district court upheld the AEBA, Hochul’s administration agreed to pause implementation pending a ruling from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Energy Choice Act
The All Electric Buildings Act was opposed not only in federal court but also in Congress. The “Energy Choice Act” was introduced by Western New York Congressman Nicholas Langworthy (R-NY23). Langworthy’s bill (introduced in June 2025 as H.R. 3699) would block Governor Hochul’s All-Electric Buildings Act and similar laws by stripping authority from states and local government. It would make it illegal for New York or any other state or locality to prohibit gas lines in new construction. So much for state’s rights.
Langworthy calls the Energy Choice Act a defense of consumer choice (even if localities choose to ban natural gas) that, he says, would lower energy bills and provide reliable cooking and heating. Rep. Langworthy ignores the climate effects and the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from natural gas, which causes about 75 deaths per year.
By late 2025, the Energy Choice Act had cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee with some bipartisan support. It is supported by the natural gas industry and local resolutions across New York urging Congress to pass it.
The 100-Foot Rule and the Langworthy Hidden Subsidy
What isn’t Rep. Nick Langworthy telling his constituents about the Energy Choice Act and the Langworthy hidden gas subsidy?
For decades, a little-known provision in state law—the so-called “100-foot rule”—has forced every natural gas customer in New York to unknowingly subsidize the expansion of gas infrastructure to new buildings. Gas utilities cover the first 100 feet of gas line extensions to new residential hookups. But let’s be clear: the gas companies weren’t paying for it. Existing ratepayers are.
This hidden junk fee has drained hundreds of millions of dollars from New Yorkers’ each year. Recent analyses from the Public Utility Law Project peg the yearly cost at around $600 million – money folded directly into “delivery charges” or “base rates” on customers’ monthly bills.
That’s no small change. It translates to roughly $100 or more per household each year. As a longtime gas bill payer in this state—going on 50 years—I’ve personally paid thousands of dollars o help build out gas lines for new developments that I had no say in or benefit from.
This junk fee – Langworthy’s hidden gas subsidy – was never transparent. There was never a line item labeled “new hookup subsidy” on our gas bills. It’s rightly called a “hidden” and “unfair” tax on existing customers, buried in the fine print of utility charges without any disclosure or choice. No similar “free ride” exists for electric, water, or sewer connections. Only natural gas enjoyed this special treatment, propping up fossil fuel expansion (and increasing Greenhouse gases) at ratepayers’ expense.
Repealing the 100-Foot Rule
On December 19, 2025, Governor Hochul signed legislation – Senate Bill S.8417/Assembly Bill A.8888 – sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon, repealing the 100-foot rule for new residential natural gas installations. The law is set to take effect one year from now.
Repeal of the 100-foot rule shifts the cost of materials and installation, estimated at $2,500 to $10,000 or more per home, varying by location and specifics, squarely onto the builder. No more forcing millions of New York gas customers to bankroll someone else’s gas hookup.
Supporters, including Hochul, the Public Utility Law Project, New York League of Conservation Voters, Earthjustice, and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, have long argued that the 100-foot rule was an outdated, inequitable subsidy that encouraged the buildup of polluting gas infrastructure while clashing with the state’s climate mandates. Ending it eases the financial load on ratepayers, discourages unnecessary fossil fuel growth, and promotes a fairer playing field for cleaner alternatives. Over time, experts expect this repeal to gradually reduce inflated delivery charges for current customers as the subsidized expansions halt.
It’s a matter of basic fairness in an era of skyrocketing energy costs. Why should everyday New Yorkers subsidize new gas lines when the state is already grappling with affordability crises and commitments to cut emissions? This repeal doesn’t ban gas hookups—it simply stops making the rest of us pay for them. And with New York joining states like California and Massachusetts in scrapping similar policies, it’s a step toward transparency and accountability that Langworthy’s “energy choice” rhetoric conveniently glosses over.
Summary
Gov. Hochul’s first move, the All Electric Buildings Act, was countered by Langworthy’s Energy Choice Act, which was countered by Gov. Hochul’s repeal of the “100-foot rule” for new natural gas installations, which will save current rate payers about $100 per year.
I’ve been paying for 50 years for other people’s gas hookups. I’d like my $5,000 back. Maybe Rep. Langworthy has it?
