Cuomo’s Carbon Casualties

Ban pipelines and fracking and then blame business for shortages

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"Natural-gas production in Pennsylvania has increased 60% since Mr. Cuomo banned fracking five years ago, adding $6 billion to Keystone State GDP and its waterways are fine.

Mr. Cuomo’s real purpose is to eliminate natural gas as part of his political commitment to “carbon neutrality” by 2050, and this isn’t a cost-free promise. Upstate New Yorkers struggle economically and pay among the highest energy costs in the U.S. A quarter still rely on heating oil, which costs about $1,000 a year more than natural gas and emits nearly 40% more CO2. New Yorkers pay about 40% more for electricity than Pennsylvanians and 15% more than in New Jersey.

"The utility Con Edison in March halted natural gas hookups north of New York City due to pipeline constraints. National Grid, the gas utility that serves Long Island, this fall imposed a moratorium on new hookups after the Governor vetoed a 23-mile gas pipeline beneath New York Harbor. National Grid said it couldn’t guarantee uninterrupted service without the pipeline. New oil-to-gas conversions could cause future gas shortages and outages."

"“The ‘moratorium’ is either a fabricated device or a lack of competence,” the Governor wrote to National Grid last week."

"The Governor claims the utility violated its “fundamental legal obligation” by inadequately managing supply and demand. He also blames the utility for promoting oil-to-gas conversions even though this advances the state’s climate goals. One irony is that the pipeline he vetoed below New York Harbor could reduce annual CO2 emissions by the equivalent of 500,000 cars on the road. His gas embargo is raising state emissions."