Cuomo Blaming Utilities For His Failings

Just when you think New York Governor Andrew Cuomo couldn’t get any worse, he says “Hold my chianti,” and proves us wrong.

After banning fracking in the Empire State, then banning construction of pipelines in or through New York, then blaming the natural gas companies like National Grid and Con Edison for their inability to connect new customers in the greater New York City area because they don’t have the supply capacity to do so, Cuomo quadruples down on stupid and threatens to yank National Grid’s public franchise and get someone else to provide natural gas to New Yorkers. (Link may be paywalled.)

Yeah? Who? No one else can supply any more gas than either National Grid or Con Edison if they can’t build the pipelines they need to get the gas from the Pennsylvania gas fields to their customers. Using trucks, trains, or barges is a non-starter because too many New York watermelon environmentalists are against building the facilities to make any of that feasible. Those methods are also quite inefficient compared to pipelines as a lot more infrastructure is needed for the other methods. They can also be more dangerous.

But that doesn’t concern Cuomo. He really wants to make sure one of the cleanest and most efficient fossil fuels (which he hates with a passion) will become less available and more expensive for his constituents.

The Governor’s response: Who cares?

--snip--

National Grid already plans to deliver compressed natural gas by truck during the winter, but what if a snow storm closes roads? Perhaps “heat pumps and renewable sources” could alleviate the gas shortage, Mr. Cuomo says.

Heat pumps? Really? Considering what electricity costs in New York and that Cuomo has no use for nuclear power, where is the electricity to run those heat pumps supposed to come from? Renewables like wind? Yeah, considering renewables aren’t reliable, costs many times what electricity from nuclear, coal, and natural gas-fired plants costs, and hydro-power is committed elsewhere, heat pumps aren’t the answer.

On has to wonder what the anti-fossil fuel governor is going to ban next and do so without spending even a microsecond pondering the side-effects. He certainly didn’t waste any time thinking about the bad effects of the fracking and pipeline bans on his constituents.

Is Cuomo trying to out-California California?