The Empire Center reported New Yorkers pay the third-highest electricity costs nationwide. Average costs are $29.93 per kilowatt hour, which is 62.3% above the national average. (Adobe Stock) Listen to the story HERE Aug 12, 2026 By Edwin J. Viera Elected officials who are also veterans view clean energy as the best way to reduce rising energy costs. New York state’s Energy […]
The Empire Center reported New Yorkers pay the third-highest electricity costs nationwide. Average costs are $29.93 per kilowatt hour, which is 62.3% above the national average. (Adobe Stock)
Listen to the story HERE
Aug 12, 2026
By Edwin J. Viera
Elected officials who are also veterans view clean energy as the best way to reduce rising energy costs.
New York state’s Energy Research and Development Authority reported 2026 electricity costs so far have been higher than in 2024 and 2025, and the Energy Information Administration said electricity and gas prices soared in recent months because of the Iran War.
Jeffrey Elder, D-Niagara Falls, a Niagara county legislator, Air Force Veteran, said families are seeing higher everyday costs, namely with utilities.
“The United States should be pursuing every reliable source of energy that can make us more secure and reduce costs for all of our American families; wind, solar, and of course, being from Niagara Falls, I want to throw hydro in there,” Elder stressed.
Growth in New York’s solar market has led to more than $12 billion in statewide private investments and created more than 16,000 jobs. But the federal government is becoming a major hurdle for clean energy projects. The Trump administration is buying back offshore wind leases from renewable energy companies and encouraging them to invest in fossil fuels.
While fossil fuel prices have been rising, renewable energy costs have been dropping. An International Renewable Energy Agency report showed new clean energy development costs are well below those of fossil fuels. It also suggested prices will continue declining in the long term by another 40% by 2035.
Alex Cornell du Houx, cofounder and president of the group Elected Officials to Protect America, Former Maine state Rep., USMC Veteran said it is a matter of energy security.
“Fossil fuels are now more expensive, less secure. We’re dependent on a certain number of choke points to get them through and the majority of the fossil fuels are produced by states that are dictatorships,” Cornell du Houx pointed out. “In a world where three quarters of the energy right now is reliant on fossil fuels, this is very dangerous and expensive.”
Renewables are considered more secure since they can be produced locally and are not subject to international price spikes.
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