New York Issues Major Cuts to Energy Affordability Program

The NYSERDA is cutting over ⅔ of the budget for EmPower+ — the state program that has helped low- and moderate-income households install energy efficiency upgrades to their homes that lower electric bills and use cleaner energy. Currently, over a million families in New York cannot afford to pay their energy bills, and participation in EmPower+ had only been growing every year when the NYSERDA chose to scale the program back. Radio Catskill’s Julia Kim had the chance to speak with Eric Walker, Energy Justice Senior Policy Manager for WE ACT for Environmental Justice, on what these steep cuts will look like on-the-ground and how they will exacerbate existing racial and class disparities in clean energy access and affordability. WE ACT is a community-based organization that was founded in Harlem back in 1988 with the specific aim of advocating for low-income communities and communities of color in the creation of environmental policy. Here’s Eric…