New York Senate works with Governor to safeguard clean energy funds

The Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY), working with allies, the press, and lobbyists, has won a victory to safeguard funding for the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and system benefits charge (SBC).

The New York legislature passed budget language subjecting ratepayer funds collected for the RPS and SBC programs to annual appropriations by the legislature. This would have placed RPS funds (starting at $24 million the first year to approximately $167 million in 2013 for a total of approximately $740 million over the life of the program) and SBC funds for the development and implementation of clean energy ($175 million per year through 2011) under its control.

If the budget language had been successful, purchases of renewable energy attributes made by the State Energy Research and Development Authority would have been subject to an annual appropriations process, eroding the certainty of the RPS.

New York Governor George Pataki (R) vetoed this harmful language among 200 budget items vetoed. The state legislature worked to override vetoes on every other topic; clean energy funding was the only vetoed item that the Senate did not override. Democratic leadership in the Senate joined with the Republican Governor to protect the value and functions of the RPS and the SBC funds.

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