The mood was gloomy when 90 gathered at the New York Propane Gas Association’s (NYPGA) fall conference in Saratoga Springs, New York, from Oct. 27-28, as concerns mounted over the proposed New York propane ban. The issue: Environmental advocates and New York’s political leadership, they argued, were driving the state toward an electrified future that could leave propane behind.
“Propane remains essential for heating, cooking and hot water in thousands of communities beyond the reach of gas lines,” said Rick Cummings, vice president of the 100-year-old Mulhern Gas Company in Hudson and legislative director for NYPGA. “That’s not because people love propane. It’s because more and more communities depend on it.”
NYPGA President and Paraco Gas Chief Operating Officer (COO) Christina Armentano framed the industry’s challenge more positively and broadly.
“We, as an industry, want to make sure we’re able to continue to be that unsung hero for communities,” she said, “doing it in a reliable, affordable and safe way.”
What propane marketers are finding is that it is difficult to be apolitical in this current environment. In the past, marketers sought to stay neutral, with the focus on serving customers, not politics.
Energy reliability no longer feels like a central selling point of propane. At the moment, the outlook for propane in New York is unclear. With New York’s all-electric mandate for new construction under seven stories set to take effect Jan. 1, 2026, the industry had braced for a seismic shift that many believed could fundamentally alter their businesses.
There was also no guarantee that additional bans could be put into place following landmark legislation seeking to reduce fossil-fuel use and increase an “electrify-all” strategy.
CLCPA: 5 Dirty Words?
New York state ignited the current fight in 2019 by passing the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) — one of the nation’s most aggressive climate laws with mandates aimed at “protecting New York’s natural resources, creating economic opportunities and ensuring a brighter future,” according to climate.ny.gov.
The statute requires a 40% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040, triggering a cascade of regulatory changes aimed at phasing out fossil fuels.
Those directives had the potential to become much more real on Jan. 1. New homes, apartments and mixed-use buildings would need to run on electric heat pumps and electric appliances. For many propane marketers at the conference, the state’s electrification push was not merely ambitious — it was not practical, safe or cost-effective.
“Now, instead of just taking on tough winters,” Cummings said, “we’re taking on political powers in New York state.”
Cummings made a federal case of it.
The Legal Fight for Fuel
Mulhern Gas, joined by the New York State Builders Association, the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) and other partners, filed suit this year in Mulhern v. Rodriguez, arguing that New York’s fossil-fuel equipment ban violates the United States Constitution.
“The plaintiffs sued the state of New York over statutes enacted in 2023 that require amendments to prohibit the installation of fossil-fuel equipment,” says a summary from NPGA.
The complaint hinges on the Supremacy Clause and precedent from the Ninth Circuit’s 2023 ruling overturning the gas ban in Berkeley, California. Marketers celebrate the Berkeley case because the Ninth Circuit ruled that local or state regulations could not override the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act of 1975. The act preempts state and local rules that effectively restrict the use of federally regulated appliances. The court held that Berkeley’s ban on gas hookups indirectly regulated the energy use of those appliances and therefore violated the act.
Though the U.S. District Court dismissed the Mulhern case in August, it did so without prejudice, allowing the plaintiffs to appeal.
‘A Runaway Freight Train’
The urgency of the moment was echoed by speakers across the political spectrum, including Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) COO Bridget Kidd, energy policy veteran John Howard, and New York Assemblyman Paul Palmesano.
While Kidd focused on propane’s “whole-house” uses, the elected officials and policy experts cut directly into the political and economic realities.
“This thing is a runaway freight train heading down the tracks, and the public really doesn’t have an idea yet of what’s coming,” Palmesano said. “It’s going to hit families, small businesses and farmers hard if we don’t slow this down.”
“Utility rates are already skyrocketing,” he said. “You don’t need a hearing to recognize that people can’t afford what’s happening. It’s economic insanity.”
John Howard, a Democrat and longtime state energy adviser, offered a blunt assessment of what he calls a policy race divorced from physics.
“What’s driving this policy isn’t physics — it’s politics,” he said. “When the CLCPA passed, it became a race among states to see who could decarbonize first — 2050, 2040, 2030, tomorrow. It stopped being about science and started being about bragging rights.”
He estimated that 400,000 New Yorkers — largely in rural counties — could lose heating options or fall into energy poverty.
A Surprise Turn of Events
While at the NYPGA conference, propane marketers had no idea that just two weeks later — on Nov. 12 — the state would announce a pause in the enforcement of the ban until every legal challenge and appeal had been exhausted.
For Cummings, the announcement marked a turning point and proved his point. After months spent in courtrooms, policy meetings and late-night calls with attorneys, he called the pause a “big win.”
Several legal, political, economic and grid reliability issues put significant pressure on New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is running for reelection in 2026. Hochul has said energy affordability is important to her, and she agreed to review current policies.
The Hochul administration is getting pressure from all sides. Four environmental and climate justice groups filed a lawsuit in 2025 to push the state to enforce the CLCPA’s core mandates.
The November Decision: A pause linked to Mulhern v. Rodriguez
The decision to pause the Jan. 1 ban was directly tied to the aforementioned Mulhern v. Rodriguez lawsuit. The case argues that New York’s ban conflicts with the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which preempts state appliance-fuel mandates.
Although the district court dismissed Mulhern’s initial filing without prejudice, the pause grants the industry what it lacked in October: time. The case is now expected to be heard by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in early summer 2026, with Cummings saying it will go to the United States Supreme Court, if necessary. To further complicate matters regarding the CLCPA, a New York state Supreme Court judge ruled that the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) could not dodge CLCPA regulations just because they were costly or “complicated.”
From Concerning Trends to Energy Choice Victory
Back at the late-October NYPGA conference, Armentano tapped into a trend that caught many attendees’ attention — a surge in electric rates since CLCPA’s passage.
“One really interesting statistic brought up today was that electric rates were 17 cents when CLCPA was introduced, and now they’re at 25 cents,” she said. “That huge differential is going to have a significant impact on people’s pocketbooks.”
Cummings sees the issue as one of practicality, not ideology.
“It’s not that we’re against progress,” he said. “We’ve always evolved. But this mandate doesn’t account for the realities of weather, infrastructure or affordability in places like Buffalo or the North Country.
“This is policy without practicality,” he added.
When the Nov. 12 announcement came through, for Armentano, it represented the breakthrough the industry had been hoping for yet didn’t dare expect at the October meeting.
“New York’s all-electric building mandate is officially on pause, a major victory for energy choice and for every New Yorker who values reliability and affordability,” she said. “Our coalition’s unified effort shows the strength of our industry when we stand together for practical, balanced energy policy.”
She added that the pause validates the work of NPGA, NYPGA and grassroots propane leaders.
“This outcome proves the power of a united industry — when NPGA, NYPGA and our local propane leaders speak with one voice, real change happens.”
But she cautioned that the fight is far from over.
“We’re committed to fighting for balanced, reliable and affordable energy solutions for all New Yorkers. This is an important step, but the work continues.”
October Warnings Feel Sharper After the Pause
Speakers at the October conference had already raised concerns about cost, grid stability and the pace of electrification:
- Electric rates, as mentioned by Armentano, have climbed from 17 cents/kWh (when CLCPA passed) to 25 cents today.
- The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), a not-for-profit organization that manages the reliability and safety of the electric grid, warned in two recent reports of “profound reliability challenges,” driven by electric vehicles, data centers and building electrification, as well as aging power plants.
- Local grids, Howard noted, are “over 60 years old, and the weakest in the country. When policymakers say, ‘The grid will handle it,’ they’re not talking about January in Buffalo.”
Assemblyman Palmesano expressed deep concern: “You can’t shut down proven, reliable power sources before you’ve built new ones to replace them. That’s turning off the bridge before you build the new one.”
Richard Goldberg of Warm Thoughts Communications warned attendees that affordability concerns could turn customer sentiment quickly. Goldberg created the Energy Smart New York Campaign — a website that saw over 100,000 visitors, as well as videos served on social media that he said have been viewed 1 million times in the last year.
According to Goldberg, polling shows New Yorkers share affordability concerns. Even before recent rate increases, only one-third of residents said they were willing to pay more than $500 a year for climate initiatives.
It is in the best interest of the customer, state and industry “to really push back,” Goldberg said at the NYPGA fall meeting. Too many companies, he said, are staying silent. Goldberg explained if the full CLCPA mandates go through, propane marketers could lose their entire customer base. He said moderate Democrats in Albany are increasingly uneasy about affordability.
Nineteen upstate Democrats had recently urged Gov. Hochul to delay the all-electric mandate. Republican Senators Mark Walczyk and Tom O’Mara pressed the Hochul administration to “refocus on affordability, reliability and a diverse energy portfolio.”
If the public starts calling their local propane companies asking questions, Armentano said, that’s progress.
“That is a home run for our industry,” she said. “It means that people are understanding, they’re listening and they’re also really seeing what is at stake.”
A Pause That Shifts Momentum — But Not the Battle
The Nov. 12 announcement doesn’t end New York’s electrification efforts, but it does change the landscape, buying time for litigation, opening political debate heading into 2026 and forcing the state to defend the feasibility of its timelines. If Mulhern takes the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, the delay could put key aspects of the CLCPA on ice.
A little-known CLCPA provision allows New York to delay mandates if the electric grid cannot support them — something industry leaders expect to become part of the public conversation.
New York is seeking to attract large energy users such as AI data centers. Anthorpic, an AI development company, announced it plans to invest $50 billion for campuses in New York and Texas.
An Industry at a Crossroads
Reflecting on the pause, Cummings said the fight is not just legal or political — it’s personal.
“New York’s energy story isn’t done,” he said. “Our industry has adapted for a hundred years. We’ll adapt again, but energy transitions don’t happen by decree. They happen by design.”
Armentano said the pause should energize the industry rather than relax it.
“I’m proud to serve as NYPGA president during such a pivotal moment for our members, our communities and our state.”
One key factor in the future of propane and carbon footprint reduction is even if New York state were to hit all of its aggressive climate goal numbers, countries in other parts of the world are still burning coal. No doubt, everyone needs to do their fair share, but the global picture is important to keep in mind, according to Palmesano.
With enforcement halted for now and court battles looming, Cummings says he’s ready to return — at least for the moment — to the job he knows best: keeping homes and businesses warm in the Hudson Valley.
NYPGA’s spring meeting is scheduled for March 24-25, 2026, at The Desmond in Albany, New York.
