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Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman drilled Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday — saying green energy policies were “bankrupting” New Yorkers.
Blakeman, joined by the state’s last Republican Gov. George Pataki, vowed during a Washington Heights news conference to tap into the state’s natural gas resources and slash energy bills if he becomes governor.
“We’re not going to be able to supply our energy from this day going 100% with wind turbines and solar farms,” Blakeman told reporters. “It will actually bankrupt New Yorkers if we allow it to continue over the next four years.
“It’s got to be a balanced approach to energy,” he said. “We’re sitting on one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world. Yet Kathy Hochul wont let us extract that natural gas.”
Pataki — who served as governor from 1995 to 2006 — skewering Hochul’s policies.
“Since I left, Albany has done three things: raise your taxes, raise your electric bill and make your streets less safe than they used to be,” Pataki said. “That has got to change.
“We’re all for renewable energy, but it has got to be part of a package that doesn’t drive up costs through the roof,” Pataki added. “It can’t be something that is based on ideology as opposed to the practicality of what the people need.”
Blakeman has made energy costs a centerpiece of his campaign, vowing to slash utility bills in half after New Yorkers have seen costs steadily increase since Hochul took office in 2021.
ConEd bills in the city climbed 27% between 2021 and 2025 — equating to the average New Yorker’s bill climbing from $160 per month to $218.
In upstate New York the increases have been even worse — with NYSEG customers seeing their bills soar 46% from 2021 to 2025.
That equated to bills rising from about $80 per month to $147, data showed.
Those increases — which Blakeman has blamed on green energy initiatives to build wind and solar farms — have landed New York with the third-highest energy bills in the country, trailing only Hawaii and California.
Blakeman’s answer to the problem has been proposals to tap into New York’s huge stores of natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” — an extraction method which has become controversial over fears it could pollute groundwater and cause other environmental issues.
Fracking was banned statewide in 2014 by former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, with the ban codified in 2021 — meaning Blakeman would face a serious challenge bringing the practice to New York even if he wins on Nov. 3.
But he hasn’t backed down — his campaign on Tuesday pointed to a recent report from the think tank the Empire Center for Public Policy, which found natural gas could slash heating costs during the winter, dropping average New York prices to about $131 per month from October to March.
Electric heating — which most of the state depends on — would cost about $550 per month over the same, the report found.
“We should have an ‘All of the above’ attitude for energy. People are really suffering,” Blakeman said. “People are telling me wherever I go how expensive their utility bills are.
“We’ve got to get back to common sense and having an energy policy that works for the people.”
Blakeman and Pataki’s comments come just two weeks ahead of the midterm elections, with some polls showing Hochul leading the race by just 4 points.
Hochul separately defended her energy plans Tuesday, touting the $1 billion in rebate checks she’s sent to New Yorkers this year as utility costs mount.
“Energy costs are high and I know that families are struggling, which is why we are getting in the mailboxes, energy rebates,” Hochul said of her cherished checks, before quickly pivoting to blaming President Trump and the war in Iran for burdensome utility bills.
“But you know what would be a lot better to driving down energy costs in New York? It’s stopping the war with Iran.”