This morning, Politico’s E&E News published a feature on mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, affordability, and the future of New York City’s energy policy. New York Energy Alliance was quoted in the story discussing the tension between foundation-funded green policies and physical grid realities.
At a time when the New York Independent System Operator is issuing its most serious reliability warnings in decades, especially for New York City, the national spotlight is finally catching up to what New Yorkers are already feeling in their utility bills and service risks.
As we wrote in our recent breakdown of the brewing energy battle between Albany and NYC, it’s clear that something will break in 2026. Either we’ll double down on the Andrew Cuomo and Al Gore-supported doomsday climate law of 2019, or we’ll embrace dense and reliable forms of energy as a building block for families, industries and communities to thrive for generations to come.
We are part of a growing movement that supports the latter.
Critics contend that opposition to fossil fuels from Mamdani and like-minded policymakers helped create today’s energy inflation.
But Mamdani’s quiet reaction to Hochul’s pipeline approval demonstrates the tension between his affordability agenda and his green record, said Alex Panagiotopoulos, co-founder of New York Energy Alliance, a volunteer group that opposes the state’s move away from fossil fuels.
As much as climate hawks might hate it, Panagiotopoulos said, the reality of New York City’s gas-dependent infrastructure means that the only short-term alternative was spiking prices. Now that he’s in a position to be blamed if energy prices keep rising, Mamdani has to balance his progressive coalition with a public that’s sick of rising costs.
“It’s possible that his strategy might be to let other people do the unpopular things, be a critic, but not really get in the way,” Panagiotopoulos said.
Read our analysis of the Mamdani’s administration’s climate transition team:
