On December 21, Governor Hochul signed legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Thiele clearing a path for Community Choice Aggregate programs on Long Island.
Although the state order authorizing CCA was issued by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in 2016, the initial order failed to consider the complexities of LIPA’s service territory and rate structure. As a result, Long Island municipalities were hampered in their efforts to implement CCA.
The legislation, sponsored by Assemblyman Thiele and State Senator Kaminsky addresses many of the complexities not addressed in the initial PSC order. The Town of Southampton, the first of four Long Island municipalities to adopt enabling legislation to initiate a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program in their communities, can now proceed toward development of CCA.
New York State Energy Research and Development Agency ( NYSERDA), a public benefit corporation that offers objective information and analysis to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, describes CCA as the most effective single step a municipality can take to increase access to renewable energy resources and to reduce carbon emissions. “Now that the Town has the opportunity to pursue CCA more robustly, the chances of achieving our renewable energy goals and reducing our carbon footprint are greatly enhanced,” said Councilman John Bouvier.
Mr. Bouvier thanks Assemblyman Thiele for his leadership and support on this issue. He also thanks the over 500 Southampton community members who submitted letters of support to the Governor’s office encouraging her to sign this bill into law. Mr. Bouvier added, “Without Assemblyman Thiele’s leadership, broad community support and the hard work of Town staff, this significant milestone would not have been reached.”
The new law will go into effect 90 days following this signing. In the meantime, Town staff will be working with all stakeholders and community members developing plans to bring CCA to Southampton.
