Energy advocates are warning that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s latest push toward nuclear power could drive New Yorkers’ energy bills sharply higher.
The governor is expected to direct the state to plan for 5 gigawatts of new nuclear energy, a major expansion from the 1 gigawatt she proposed last summer. Critics say the move comes as the state backs away from cheaper public renewable projects and risks locking residents into decades of higher costs.
A new report from the Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media argues that relying on new nuclear and gas plants would significantly increase electricity rates. The analysis points to Plant Vogtle in Georgia, the only commercial nuclear project built in the U.S. this century, which ballooned far beyond its original budget and is now widely described as the most expensive power plant ever built.
According to the report, Georgia ratepayers are seeing bills rise by more than $220 a year as a result of the project. The analysis warns that any new reactors built in New York would likely cost as much or more, leaving state ratepayers with similar long-term increases.
The criticism comes as Hochul’s New York Power Authority scaled back its renewable ambitions last year. NYPA approved a 1.5-gigawatt reduction in the amount of public renewable energy it plans to build under the Build Public Renewables Act, a move advocates say undercuts one of the state’s strongest tools for keeping energy affordable.
The Public Power NY Coalition sharply criticized the shift. “If a governor wanted to make it as hard for New Yorkers’ to afford our energy bills as possible, their plan would look like Kathy Hochul’s,” the group said in a statement. The coalition argued that dropping large amounts of public renewables while promoting nuclear power benefits private energy companies at the expense of households and small businesses.
The Penn Center report also faults the state’s broader energy planning process. It says New York’s official energy plan downplays the cost risks of nuclear power and relies on assumptions that even the state and its contractors do not fully stand behind. The report notes that nuclear plants in the U.S. have a long history of massive cost overruns and long construction delays.
Advocates say the nuclear push also fails to address immediate drivers of higher energy demand, including data centers, which have contributed to steep increases in wholesale electricity prices in parts of the state. The report warns that building expensive, slow-to-complete nuclear plants does little to address near-term needs while exposing ratepayers to decades of financial risk.
Public Power NY and other advocates are instead calling on Hochul to include $200 million for public renewables in her executive budget. They say the state should fully implement the Build Public Renewables Act by building 15 gigawatts of public renewable energy to meet legally mandated climate goals while keeping energy costs down.
Supporters of public renewables argue that solar, wind, battery storage, and emerging technologies can be built faster and at far lower cost than nuclear plants. They say prioritizing those options would better protect households already struggling with rising utility bills.
The debate is expected to intensify as Hochul prepares to release her budget proposal, with energy affordability shaping up to be a central issue for the 2026 legislative session.
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