Electric Heat Could Cost Williamsburg Families Four Times More Than Gas This Winter

By Williamsburg 365 Staff

Families in Williamsburg and nearby neighborhoods like Bedford-Stuyvesant, Bushwick and Clinton Hill who heat their homes with electricity could pay about $3,300 to get through the winter, more than four times the roughly $790 it would cost with natural gas, according to a new estimate from the Empire Center for Public Policy.

Heating an average New York home from October to March would cost about $790 with natural gas, about $1,100 with a heat pump, and about $3,300 with electric resistance heat, such as baseboard heaters. The estimate is for the whole state, not Brooklyn alone.

Why is electricity so expensive? New York home electricity prices are 63 percent above the national average and 14 percent higher than a year ago, according to the Empire Center. Residential natural gas prices are 17 percent above the national average and 7 percent higher than last year.

Con Edison, which supplies power to Williamsburg, says two things are pushing bills up. First, the power itself costs more. Con Ed buys electricity on the open market and passes that cost straight to customers. Second, delivering it costs more. The state approved a three-year rate plan in January so Con Ed can pay for grid upgrades, to protect against storms and to handle more demand as people switch to electric heat and electric cars.

The war with Iran, which began in February, has also pushed up energy prices, mostly oil and gasoline.

The issue matters in Williamsburg, where many newer buildings have gone up in recent years. Under New York City's Local Law 154, most new buildings seven stories or shorter must be all-electric starting in 2024, with taller buildings following in 2027. That means families moving into new construction in the area may have no gas heat option.

The Empire Center based its estimate on last year's natural gas and electricity prices from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and on weather data from NYSERDA, the state energy agency. It assumes a home needs 40 MMBtu of heat for the season. It does not include the cost of buying and installing a heat pump, which can run from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

"Replacing natural gas with electricity for home heating could add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to New Yorkers' energy bills," said Zilvinas Silenas, president of the Empire Center.

For large families in the area, who often live in bigger apartments, a higher heating bill can add up quickly.

Silenas called on state lawmakers and candidates to say clearly whether they plan to push New Yorkers to switch from gas to electric heat.