As a long-standing member of the State Assembly’s Energy Committee, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Earth Day! In honor of Earth Day I’m happy to see our community and state making great strides to protect our families now and in the future.

This past week we unveiled 25 new electric vehicle charging stations in the City of Amsterdam – encouraging more drivers to go electric sooner rather than later – helping reduce energy costs and protect our environment.

In addition to this, I helped pass a new bill in the State Assembly that creates opportunities to integrate electric vehicles into our transportation sector by eliminating barriers and encouraging their use to further reduce emissions.

New York State’s current rate design for commercial entities bills DC fast charging (DCFC) station companies for the energy consumed at a given site, in addition to the highest average of 15-minute flow of electricity in a monthly billing cycle. This system can result in prohibitively high costs for DCFC customers. This bill I helped pass will require the Public Service Commission to create a more flexible billing system for eligible light duty, heavy duty and fleet vehicles to reduce costs.

With the effects of climate change continuing to threaten our families and the well-being of future generations, we must act now to protect our natural resources and address this looming crisis by investing in greener alternatives, such as zero-emissions vehicles.