Press Releases

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “State Budget Director Blake Washington recently warned that the energy transition could cost many New Yorkers an additional $3,000 a year – approximately 4.5% percent of the average upstate household income. At a time when New Yorkers are already struggling, adding $3,000 in […]

The following can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “At a time when many of our state leaders, representatives, and stakeholders have started to recognize the major factors contributing to skyrocketing utility bills, it is incredibly frustrating that some of the very legislators who sponsored and passed the CLCPA in 2019 […]

The following can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “As usual, today’s State of the State address included a long list of aspirational proposals that, without more details, could prove difficult to fully assess. That said, we agree with the Governor that utility bill transparency is long overdue. But when talking […]

The following can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United Expansion of Prevailing Wage: “While the Governor’s approval memo for legislation to expand prevailing wage mandates to custom prefabrication work acknowledges that certain projects will be exempt to mitigate cost impacts, this bill will still significantly increase costs across the industry. It is deeply disappointing […]

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “We are encouraged that the State Energy Plan (SEP) acknowledges our long-standing concerns with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act’s (CLCPA) impact on affordability and grid reliability. While we appreciate that the governor, her office, and state agency leaders now […]

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “Yesterday’s New York Times piece about spurring eminent domain to buy out Central Hudson and replace it with a government-run utility sheds light on the false narrative that this is the solution to achieving lower utility bills. On the contrary, a government takeover […]

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “The Tax Foundation has once again ranked New York as the worst state in its State Tax Competitive Index. By comparing more than 150 variables across five major areas of taxation – corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales and excise taxes, property and wealth taxes, […]

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United “Last week’s ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Julian Schreibman affirmed what we already knew – New York is violating its climate law. The state now faces a stark choice: either implement the overdue Cap and Invest regulations or amend […]

ALBANY, N.Y. — Upstate United today warned that the latest findings from the New York Independent System Operator’s (NYISO) Short-Term Assessment of Reliability (STAR) report confirm a growing energy crisis caused by Albany’s failed energy policies. “For years, Upstate United has warned that New York’s energy mandates are undermining reliability, affordability, and competitiveness,” said Justin […]

The following statement can be attributed to Justin Wilcox, Executive Director of Upstate United. “Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA)-related charges in New Yorkers’ electric bills jumped sharply in 2023 and 2024, with several residential service areas seeing increases between 6.8–10.3%. The hardest hit, however, were industrial employers — with nearly every service area […]