New York Democrats’ Energy Suicide Pact: They Closed the Plants, Blocked the Drilling, and Now They’re Blocking the Future

The clown car that is our Democratic state leadership is at it again. This is the same crew that’s been lecturing us for years about saving the planet, and they’ve finally painted themselves into a corner so ridiculous even they can’t spin it.

For decades, Albany Democrats — from Andrew Cuomo to Kathy Hochul — have waged war on reliable energy. They shut down coal plants. They banned fracking. They cheered the closure of Indian Point nuclear. They poured billions of taxpayer dollars into wind and solar that can’t deliver when we actually need power. And now, when the 21st-century economy shows up at the door with AI data centers and chip factories offering thousands of high-paying jobs and billions in tax revenue, these same geniuses throw up their hands and say, “Sorry, the grid can’t handle it.”

Let’s look at the scoreboard since 2019, when they passed their grand Climate Leadership law. Democrats have forced the retirement of roughly 4,300 to 5,200 megawatts of reliable generation — mostly fossil fuel plants. In that same time, they’ve added only about 2,300 to 2,900 MW of new capacity — and almost all of it is solar, wind, and batteries. Intermittent power that works great when the sun shines and the wind blows, but does nothing for the grid when New Yorkers actually need electricity, and importantly, are not sufficient for corporations looking to invest in our state in the form of new plants. The result? In-state electricity production has actually fallen, reliability margins are razor-thin, and electricity prices are already some of the highest in the nation.

This is the same leadership that banned fracking while Pennsylvania next door turned its Marcellus Shale into an economic engine. New Yorkers sitting on top of the same resource get nothing but higher bills and lost opportunity. Now Hochul wants to pause new large data centers — anything over 50 megawatts — because the grid she helped weaken supposedly can’t take the load. She says companies have to “bring their own power” or pay premiums. Translation: We destroyed our own energy supply, and now we’re going to punish anyone who wants to invest here anyway.

Here’s the kicker. New York doesn’t even stand alone. We’re tied into the PJM regional grid. Power flows across state lines. A massive data center built in Pennsylvania will still raise wholesale prices that hit your utility bill in Buffalo or Long Island. The only difference is New York gets zero jobs, zero tax revenue, and zero economic boost. We export the upside and import the pain — classic Albany Democrat economics.

This isn’t governance. It’s ideological performance art. They closed reliable plants in the name of climate virtue. They blocked domestic drilling. They subsidized intermittent sources that can’t carry the load. And now they’re shocked — shocked! — that the grid they deliberately weakened can’t support the industries of the future. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, and other states are rolling out the red carpet for exactly the projects Hochul is turning away.

Upstate New York is dying for economic revival. Data centers and advanced manufacturing could deliver exactly that. Instead, Democratic leadership offers more restrictions, more mandates, and more excuses. They’ve turned energy policy into a suicide pact: strangle supply, subsidize fashionably green failures, then act surprised when the bill comes due and the jobs go elsewhere.

New Yorkers are paying the highest prices for the least reliable outcomes. It’s time to stop worshipping at the altar of climate deadlines and start asking the simple question these Democrats never answer: How exactly does this help the working families and small businesses you claim to represent?

The grid didn’t fail New York. New York’s Democratic leadership failed the grid — and now they’re failing the future. Enough is enough.