Senate Democrats Give Cold Shoulder To Upstate Homeowners
June 18, 2010
(New York, N.Y.)-Senate Democrats today voted for legislation that will likely cause a dangerous shortage in the supply of home heating oil for Upstate communities and cause home heating costs to rise drastically this winter.
“This legislation passed by Senate Democrats will hurt families and businesses throughout Upstate New York. I am shocked that my Democrat colleagues who represent Upstate communities would support this bill, which benefits New York City and devastates families throughout the rest of the state,” said Senator Tom Libous, who sponsored an amendment to improve the legislation passed by Democrats in order to avoid shortages and rising costs.
The legislation would mandate the reduction of sulfur content of #2 heating oil. The amendment offered by Senate Republicans would have pushed the compliance date back by two years to provide adequate time for refineries to adopt the new standards and prevent a dangerous shortage in supply that would drastically increase costs for upstate consumers.
A recent study estimated that the shortfall that will be caused if an adequate amount of time is not given to meet the new requirements would result in an increase in the price of home heating fuel by 20 to 30 cents per gallon, costing Upstate consumers $1 billion. Consumers could be forced to pay 60 cents more during a particularly cold winter, costing the average Upstate family up to an additional $600 to heat their homes.
At the same time they imposed a huge increase in home heating costs for Upstate, Senate Democrats exempted #6 heating oil, which is primarily used in high rise apartment buildings in New York City.
“Senate Republicans offered up a very reasonable amendment to this bill to ensure that families, and especially seniors and those on fixed incomes, throughout Upstate New York are not subjected to drastic increases in home heating oil costs, or even worse, a dangerous fuel shortage,” said Senator Libous. “Our conference is supportive of this concept, but important changes needed to be made. Even though our amendment was defeated, two upstate Democrats joined us in voting to push back the date because they know the damage that will be caused by trying to force these new standards through too quickly. I don’t know how they could support our legislation, yet provide their New York City colleagues with the votes to push this dangerous bill through.”
“With a simple date change, Senate Democrats could have done the responsible thing and ensured that the reduction of sulfur content, which is an important issue, was implemented in a way that wouldn’t cause a major disruption in supply and cause costs to skyrocket,” said Senate Republican Leader Dean G. Skelos. “For too many families throughout New York State and particularly Upstate, home heating oil is a necessity, not a luxury. This legislation will be catastrophic to Upstate communities, and I’m disappointed in my Senate Democrat colleagues, particularly those who represent Upstate communities, for allowing this bill to pass.”
“We are in an economic crisis, and people are hurting in Upstate New York; they can’t afford to pay their bills,” said Senator Cathy Young. “I am shocked that my colleagues, especially the Democrats from Upstate New York would vote to raise home heating fuel prices or create a shortage where people who depend on home heating oil aren’t going to be able to get it. Senate Democrats are hurting people today with this legislation.”
The amendment offered by Senate Republicans would have mandated a reduction in sulfur content, to 500 parts per million, by July 1, 2014 which is consistent to the policy adopted in surrounding states. The legislation put forth by Senate Democrats mandates a reduction to 15 parts per million by July 1, 2012.
The majority of New York’s home heating oil is supplied by East Coast and Gulf Coast refineries. Engineering evaluations show that it would take at least four years to install the proper infrastructure and processing capacity to meet the new mandated reductions in sulfur content.
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Politics
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