You May Pay A Lot More Money Thanks To Changes In 100 Foot Rule In New York

The New York State Legislature has been hard at work over the last few weeks as it finishes work on several bills. The legislative calendar ends in June, and, barring some sort of government emergency, that will be when the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly finish passing new laws in 2025.

One of the things the legislature has passed and sent to Governor Hochul to sign is a new bill that would fundamentally change how people receive natural gas service in a new building, whether it's a house or commercial structure.

New York's Changes To The 100-Foot Rule May Cost People Lots Of Money

As it stands today, just about anyone who requires new natural gas service to be installed in a new house or other structure is able to have all the connections made to their new building thanks to New York State's 100-foot rule.

The rule required utilities to cover the cost of new gas service connections if that new service was within 100 feet of an existing service line. Because utility companies are in the general business of making a profit, those costs were essentially subsidized by every other gas service ratepayer in the state. Excavating the ground and installing natural gas lines can be quite expensive, so the costs could easily range into the tens of thousands of dollars to establish a new service.

The passage of New York State Senate Bill S8417 / Assembly Bill A8888 removes this rule and now requires the person or entity requesting the service to cover the costs of installation. New York State Senator Liz Krueger believes this change will save the average New Yorker more than $170 million every year.

With shifting the responsibility from utilities to property owners, natural gas costs may go down for some and go up for others, which could be good or bad depending on which side of the coin you are on. Advocates say this will allow utility companies to reduce costs, while opponents say it will drive up the cost for people to establish new service.