By Ezra Bitterman
Albany Times Union

ALBANY — New York has agreed to delay implementation of the All-Electric Buildings Act, which was scheduled to go into effect in January and would prohibit natural gas and heating oil equipment in many new construction projects, including residences.

Attorneys for the state agreed in a stipulation filed in the U.S. District Court in Albany Wednesday to suspend regulations for the law’s implementation until an appellate court makes its decision in the case.

The appellate court, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, has not yet added the case to its calendar but has allowed the groups that brought the lawsuit to expedite the appeal. Filings are due by late December.

The law was scheduled to take effect in January for new buildings that are seven stories or less. The same requirement would take effect for all other new buildings in 2029.

The lawsuit was filed two years ago by a series of trade groups and labor unions, including the New York State Builders Association and AFL-CIO, to invalidate the state’s ban on gas equipment in new construction. 

They contend the state law is preempted by the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act and is therefore unenforceable.

“This argument has no merit,” U.S. District Judge Glenn Suddaby wrote in a July decision in response to part of their argument.

The groups also contend that the law would exacerbate New York’s continuing housing crisis by making new construction less feasible and attractive for developers.

“The nation’s energy policy cannot be dictated by state and local governments; such a patchwork approach would be the antithesis of a national energy policy,” they said in the lawsuit filed in 2023.

“Further, millions of New Yorkers use natural gas, propane, and oil for home heating, cooking, and hot water, particularly in the coldest winter months, and the decision to outright prohibit the use of all fuel gas — even propane — in new buildings is at odds with citizens’ and businesses’ need for reliable, resilient, and affordable energy,” the civil complaint added.

The law has been a paramount part of New York’s strategy under the 2019 Climate Act to comply with its self-imposed mandate to reduce emissions from fossil fuels over the next two and a half decades.

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