From: Anthony Kownack, Corning Place Communications

Subject: Weekly Articles of Interest (New York Propane Gas Association)

Date: March 1, 2024

Bill,

Below, please find a compilation of articles, issued this week, that may be of interest to you. Articles
are also hyperlinked within each headline.

Thank you,

Anthony

Weekly Articles of Interest Include:

• Recall and repairs sideline electric school buses

• Long Island lawmakers mount opposition to state's plan on electric school buses
• Comptroller Tom DiNapoli cuts NY pension investment in more oil, gas stocks to
combat global warming
• Hochul nominates former DEC commissioner, environmental advocate to utility
regulator
• NY HEAT Act will save New Yorkers money on home heating costs. This is how

Recall and repairs sideline electric school buses

Rick Karlin
Times Union
February 29, 2024

BETHLEHEM — On Feb. 6, one of the Bethlehem Central School District’s seven electric buses was
knocked out of service by a pothole.

The bus was on Interstate 787 when the pothole caused the vehicle to become disabled. The driver
pulled over the bus, which had one student on board. No one was injured.

As it turned out, there was a recall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on the
bus along with four others in the Bethlehem e-fleet.
All told, five of the seven electric buses that Bethlehem purchased three years ago have been off the
road in recent weeks. they were at the Matthews Bus dealership in Ballston Spa for maintenance
and warranty repairs, according to the district.

Bethlehem isn’t the only school district having problems with electric buses.

Earlier in February, a driver in Winthrop, Maine, suddenly lost power steering and braking, causing
him to run into a snowbank to stop the vehicle.

Several municipalities nationwide, including Asheville, N.C., Colorado Springs, Colo., and
Philadelphia have reported issues with transit e-buses. In Philadelphia, a fleet of 25 e-buses that
were debuted during the 2019 Democratic presidential convention are unused, due to breakdowns
and lack of parts, according to news reports.

Yellow caution lights raised over the price tag

This all comes as mostly Republican lawmakers, along with some local school officials in New York,
are putting up caution lights in front of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mandate to completely electrify the
state’s fleet of about 45,000 school buses by 2035.

In legislation the governor pushed through last year, all new school buses purchased by school
districts starting in 2027 will have to be electric.

The lawmakers’ main objection is the cost.

“That’s $20 billion worth of buses,” Republican Sen. George Borrello, of Silver Lake said. “We need
to pump the brakes on all of this.”

He and other Republican senators recently spoke out against the plan citing the cost.
Hochul is allocating $500 million from the state’s Environmental Bond fund to help with the
transition.

But that’s a fraction of the total price tag, given the difference in cost and other factors between
traditional diesel and e-buses. A regular diesel bus can run between $100,000 and $150,000
compared to $300,000 to $400,000 for an electric bus.

Now, with reports of breakdowns and recalls, opponents are raising new questions about whether
the existing timetable is realistic.

Traditional diesel buses, for instance, have a failure rate of 1 or 2 percent, meaning that out of a
fleet of 100 buses, one or two would be down for repairs on a given day, said David Christopher,
executive director of the state Association for Pupil Transportation, which represents school bus
directors.

For electric buses, the failure rate is about 20 percent, meaning 20 of 100 e-buses are down on any
given day, due to problems with the buses or with their charging devices.

“They’ve been around for a long time,” Christopher said of diesel buses and if something goes
wrong, “it’s typically an easy fix.”
He stressed that he and his organization like the idea of emissions-free electric buses. They will
help clean up the air and can help lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Their problem is with the timetable, the nation’s most ambitious, and questions about the cost.
Schools that have purchased e-buses are experimenting in a sense, using the first generation of this
new technology.

The newness, though, shouldn’t deter school districts, said Adam Ruder, director of Clean
Transportation for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which helps
districts acquire and fund the new e-buses.

“It is new technology,” Ruder said, adding that a lot of vehicles get recalls for various reasons. “The
manufacturers and dealers have done a really good job of trying to stay on top of that,” he added.

So far, Ruder estimates there are between 50 and 60 electric school buses operating in 20 school
districts in New York. NYSERDA has secured funding for 300 and is making up the difference
between the cost of a traditional and an electric bus.

Loose body joints and wires

The Bethlehem buses were subject to two recalls — one for loose body joints and the other for
power cables, which can lead to a rapid loss of power.

These are Thomas Built buses, one of three major electric bus manufacturers in operation.

(The bus in Maine was from a different manufacturer, Lion Electric, which also has a recall on some
models.)

But these problems highlight another challenge in switching to e-buses, which is getting people
trained to work on them, Borrello said.

He’s sponsoring legislation that would hold off the current timetable in favor of creating pilot
programs to see how the electric buses perform in different school districts with different routes:
urban, rural and suburban.

It’s one of several bills that have been introduced regarding the e-bus mandate.

Realistically, majority Democrats would have to get on board and sponsor a similar bill for the
concept to move forward in the Legislature.

Ruder and Hochul’s office both stress that as more e-buses are in use, prices should decrease.

There are other costs to the switchover, though.

Borrello’s estimate of $20 billion for changing the fleet to e-buses includes the cost of setting up
robust charging stations that can efficiently charge large numbers of buses.

That will likely require boosting the electric grid.

During a recent talk on the mandate, a Shenendehowa district official from Clifton Park said they
would likely need a substation to handle the power to charge their 200-plus buses. The local utility
will pay for part of that, but it represents an added cost.

Ruder stressed that the changeover to electric buses will be gradual, and no one is saying that an
entire fleet should be swapped out at once.

Districts like Bethlehem with, say, seven buses, should be able to handle those electricity needs.
Moreover, school buses can utilize lower-power slow chargers since they can sit overnight in
parking lots or garages as they are being charged. “Districts are not electrifying 100 percent of their
fleets tomorrow,” Ruder said. “Most can do it now without upgrades.”

Districts will follow the law and voters’ desires

At least one of the five Bethlehem buses was scheduled to come back online last week, and two are
set to come back Monday, with another scheduled to return March 15.
As for the future of electric buses in the Bethlehem district, spokeswoman JoEllen Gardner said they
will follow the law.

“As with all school districts in New York state, Bethlehem is preparing to meet the state’s clean
energy mandates for school bus fleets. Purchasing decisions involve many factors and many
decision-making points for the district and those factors are carefully weighed each year,” she said.
“The ultimate decision is with the voters who approve bus purchases.”

Indeed, many school districts purchase new buses after voters approve them during their annual
school budget votes in May.

Generally, buses are replaced after five to eight years, Christopher said. They wear out not due to
mechanical problems but the rust (and potholes) that plague almost any vehicle operating in New
York state.

Historically, voters overwhelmingly approve budget items to purchase new buses. But Christopher
and others wonder if that will change when voters see the high cost of mandated electric buses.
That may be a harder sell.

Last summer voters in Marathon, Cortland County, and Boonville, Oneida County, rejected
proposals to buy three electric buses each, even though both would have come with EPA grants that
would have significantly cut the purchase costs.

And in the Catskills Onteora school district in Ulster County, the school board last year said “No” to
an $8.5 million EPA grant to help buy 21 electric buses. Among other things, they cited the
unknown cost of building a charging infrastructure.

Said Christopher: “This is the most significant thing that has happened to a school bus since they
painted them yellow in the 1930s.”

Long Island lawmakers mount opposition to state's plan on electric school buses
CBS New York
February 25, 2024
LEVITTOWN, N.Y. -- Local leaders on Long Island are pushing back against a state plan that would
require electric school buses.

The state's 2022-23 budget set a mandate that requires all new buses to be zero-emission by 2027,
and the entire fleet to be zero-emission by 2035.

From the Levittown Schools bus yard on Sunday, senators said the plan raises serious financial and
safety concerns, including the higher cost of the electric buses.

"Encouraging the governor, encouraging the state Legislature to pump the brakes on this electric
bus mandate until the technology catches up and until we have an actual plan to be able to
implement this," state Sen. Steve Rhoads said.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said, in part, "Old school buses are putting
children's health at risk, spewing toxic fumes and pollutants in the air that have negative health
impacts."

The spokesperson added that the state is using $500 million from the Environmental Bond Act.

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli cuts NY pension investment in more oil, gas stocks to combat
global warming
Michael Gormley
Newsday
February 25, 2024

ALBANY — State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is cutting the state pension fund’s direct
investments in eight more oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil, as part of his plan to
combat climate change through Wall Street.

DiNapoli argues that investment in oil and gas companies, even blue chip stocks such as
ExxonMobil, pose a long-term risk to investors because he believes they aren’t ready to transition
to the future low-carbon economy. On Feb. 15, DiNapoli announced he will sell $26.8 million in
securities in the eight companies as part of his Climate Action Plan and said he next will evaluate
the fund's investments in utilities nationwide.

“I very strongly believe that climate change is a risk, not just for the planet, but to investors as well,”
DiNapoli told Newsday. “It’s not about managing politics. It’s about managing risk and return.”

DiNapoli is the sole trustee of the $259.9 billion pension that serves more than a million public
sector workers and retirees. The fund’s return on investments also reduces the cost that state and
local governments must pay into the pension system as the employer’s share. Lower investment
return can force a larger employer’s share.

Critics, however, said investments always have had risks and shouldn’t be subject to such
“arbitrary” preferences.

From breaking news to special features and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team is covering the
issues that matter to you.
“Arbitrary considerations like this make it more difficult for pension fund investments to generate
the highest possible return,” said Ken Girardin, research director of the fiscally conservative Empire
Center for Public Policy in Albany. “And since these pensions are guaranteed by state taxpayers,
taxpayers risk having to shoulder higher costs.”

Last year, DiNapoli, a Great Neck Plaza Democrat, sold $238 million in securities in 21 shale oil- and
gas-producing companies, including Hess Corp., which he also said failed to demonstrate they are
prepared for the transition to a low-carbon economy. In 2021, he directed the sale of more than $7
million in investments in “oil sands” companies. Oil sands companies produce a heavier kind of
crude oil from a mix of sand, water, clay and bitumen that requires a more costly carbon-intensive
production method.

The independent Citizens Budget Commission, which analyzes state spending, hasn’t taken a
position on DiNapoli’s Climate Action Plan, but said his pension investments generally have been
sound.

“New York State has one of the best-funded pension plans in the country, in large part because of
effective investments and conservative forecasting by the comptroller,” said Patrick Orecki, the
commission’s director of state studies. “Still, the comptroller has a fiduciary responsibility to
protect the pension system's assets … Any investment decision has some risk, but the comptroller
does have a strong record of achieving targeted returns on investment.”

New York Republican leaders criticized DiNapoli’s strategy.

“The state is constitutionally required to pay pensions, and if the pension fund can’t keep up, the
added cost is paid directly by property taxpayers,” said Sen. Robert Ortt (R-North Tonawanda), the
minority leader. “Treating it otherwise is irresponsible and another example of silly politics.”
Assemb. Will Barclay (R-Pulaski) said making pension investments based on politics is “a
dangerous precedent.”

“While restricting investments in certain oil and gas companies fits within the state’s climate plan,
we should be focusing on ways to maximize growth in our pension funds so we can provide the best
benefit for retirees,” he added.

DiNapoli’s Climate Action Plan also will no longer directly invest pension funds into private-sector
market companies focused on extracting or producing oil, gas and coal, and will increase “climate
index investments” by 50% to more than $10 billion over the next two years and double those
investments by 2035.

The state pension fund still maintains $500 million in investments in ExxonMobil as part of a
grouping of stocks in a single index. DiNapoli called that a “passive” investment he doesn’t directly
control.

A spokesman for ExxonMobil didn’t respond to requests for comment. The company’s website
said its efforts to react to climate change include reducing methane emissions and developing
systems to reduce emissions.
DiNapoli also drew some criticism from the left for maintaining investment in the index that
includes ExxonMobil.

“I am disappointed in the shortsightedness of the decision not to fully divest from Exxon, let alone
the other oil majors that continue to actively drive humanity over the climate cliff,” Senate Finance
Committee chairwoman Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) said.

“However,” Krueger said, “the fact remains that Comptroller DiNapoli has taken a much more
responsible approach to the climate crisis than many comparable fiduciaries who have failed to act
at all … excuses that justify incrementalism today will ring hollow to our grandchildren suffering
from the irreversible consequences of our inaction.”

Hochul nominates former DEC commissioner, environmental advocate to utility regulator

Marie J. French
Politico
February 27, 2024

ALBANY, New York — Gov. Kathy Hochul has nominated two women to the powerful Public Service
Commission, which oversees the state’s gas, electric and water utilities.

Hochul has sent over two nominees to the Senate: Denise Sheehan, a former commissioner for the
Department of Environmental Conservation, and Uchenna Bright, an environmental advocate,
according to a person familiar with the moves.

Why it matters: This is Hochul’s first move toward reshaping the powerful Public Service
Commission, which oversees the state’s gas and electric utilities and will play a pivotal role in the
path forward for New York’s climate targets. All the current commissioners were selected by
former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

About the nominees: Sheehan works at a management consulting firm and is a senior policy
adviser for the New York Battery Energy Storage Consortium (NY-BEST), the leading trade group
for energy storage companies in the state. She’s a Capital Region board member for the New York
League of Conservation Voters.

The commission is considering some major new energy storage subsidies, which NY-BEST has
advocated for.

Sheehan headed up the DEC from February 2005, nominated under Republican Gov. George Pataki,
until January 2007. That was the period when New York joined a regional cap-and-trade system for
carbon emissions from power plants, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. She worked
at the DEC for about a decade.

She unsuccessfully ran for Colonie town supervisor as a Republican in 2011.

Sheehan is expected to fill Republican Diane Burman’s seat on the commission.

Bright previously worked at the Natural Resources Defense Council for seven years in various roles
and has been with a business group supporting environmental policies called Environmental
Entrepreneurs since 2020. She’s the eastern advocate for the group with a focus on New York and
Pennsylvania.

Bright testified on the 2022 executive budget in support of direct sales of electric vehicles and
green transit legislation.

Sheehan and Bright did not respond to requests for comment.

She’s expected to fill commissioner John Howard’s seat.

Howard, a Democrat, is a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and has said he requested
reappointment.

Planned departure: Burman announced Thursday last week she would not be seeking another
term on the powerful utility regulator.

Burman, a Republican, has served on the commission since 2013. She’s a vocal participant in the
commission’s public meetings, offering critiques and pressing Department of Public Service staff for
detailed answers about the impacts on ratepayers and potential unforeseen consequences of the
state’s renewable energy and climate mandates.

Both Burman and Howard’s terms expired on Feb. 1. They’re entitled to stay on the commission as
holdovers until the Senate confirms replacements. There is also a vacancy on the currently seven-
member body.

What’s next: The nominations are subject to Senate confirmation. The terms for commissioners are
for six years.

NY HEAT Act will save New Yorkers money on home heating costs. This is how
Dana Levenberg and Santosh Nandabalan
Lohud
February 27, 2024

According to a new analysis by think tank Win Climate, nearly 1 in 5 Westchester residents pay
more than 6% of their income on energy bills. Low-income households shoulder the bulk of this
energy burden, with national data showing these households pay three times more of their income
on energy bills than other families. A popular bill in Albany could change all of this — it is critical
that legislators pass it in the state budget.

The NY HEAT Act, A4592A/S2016A, key portions of which were included in Gov. Kathy Hochul’s
budget proposal released last month, would ensure an affordable and equitable transition off fossil
fuels by ending the consumer-subsidized expansion of the costly fracked gas system. Just as
important, the latest version of the bill directs the state to implement the goal of capping energy
bills at 6% of income for all households, extending much-needed relief to low- and middle-income
households.
A majority of Assemblymembers sponsor the NY HEAT Act, which passed the state Senate last year.
As Con Edison begins phasing in rate hikes for utility customers on gas heat, there is no time to
waste in passing the NY HEAT Act. Dozens of legislators wrote to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins this month, demanding passage of the full NY
HEAT Act in their One House budgets, expected next month.

The status quo is a nightmare for our climate and our pocketbooks.

Buildings are New York’s largest polluters, accounting for 32% of the state’s climate-heating
greenhouse gas emissions. Last year, we made history by becoming the first state in the nation to
ban fossil fuels in new buildings. Studies from RMI found that New York state and New York City’s
all-electric building laws will together prevent up to 6.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
pollution by 2040 — the equivalent of keeping more than 1.3 million cars off the road.

But this is not the end of the story. Every year, New Yorkers spend $200 million to build new
fracked gas lines into buildings. Called the “100 foot rule,” current law allows anyone renovating a
building to get a free gas hookup, paid for by their neighbors. This archaic law locks in emissions for
years to come and discourages the transition to clean, renewable energy. The NY HEAT Act closes
that loophole, lowering building emissions and enabling homeowners and small businesses to take
advantage of the substantial state and federal subsidies available to incentivize the switch to clean,
efficient, renewable energy.

That’s not all. At a time when costs for everything are going up, the NY HEAT Act would cap
everyone’s energy bills. Win Climate found that Westchester residents struggling with high energy
burden could save as much as $183 per month on average on their energy bills. For those paying
more than 6 percent of their income on energy today, that would cut the average energy bill by
more than half.

A livable, affordable future is one without fracked gas in our homes. New York is moving off fossil
fuels in new buildings, with our nation-leading gas ban going into effect for new homes next year —
but this work is not complete without passage of the NY HEAT Act. As fracked gas use plummets
our warming planet further towards climate chaos, and we all struggle with unaffordable bills, this
popular legislation offers a fix for both.

With Assembly and Senate budgets expected next month, all eyes are on Speaker Carl Heastie and
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins to pass the full NY HEAT Act.

Assemblymember Dana Levenberg represents the 95th Assembly District in Albany and is a co-sponsor
of the NY HEAT Act. Santosh Nandabalan is a senior New York organizer with the national
environmental advocacy group Food & Water Watch.