A new poll found that a majority of New Yorkers see the disconnect between green energy mandates and affordability.
The Business Council of New York State survey, released on April 29th, revealed that residents are souring on the Democrats’ energy affordability messaging. Eighty percent of respondents said energy costs will become unaffordable within a year, while 52% said their electric bills are unreasonable.
“New Yorkers struggling with the increasingly high cost of power want clarity, fairness, and accountability when it comes to their monthly energy bills,” said Heather Mulligan, the Business Council’s president and CEO.
In 2019, New York State passed the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) that mandates “70% of electricity generated in the state be derived from renewable sources by 2030 under its Clean Energy Standard (CES), formerly the renewable portfolio standard (RPS).” As we have reported here at Independent Women, blue states with RPS have retail energy prices that are 11% higher than non-RPS states.
Unsurprisingly, almost 70% of the poll’s respondents want to see CLCPA’s timelines delayed or reexamined—especially high-income earners, seniors, and Trump supporters. In February 2026, the New York State Energy and Development Authority warned Governor Hochul that the Empire State’s green mandates would raise heating bills statewide by $4,000/year and $2,000/year in New York City, respectively.
New Yorkers also expressed their dismay with the lack of transparency in their utility bills and hidden fees unrelated to the energy they’re paying for. Of those surveyed, 88% support a line-item breakdown of all associated utility bill costs and fees, especially since $20 of a $100 utility bill reportedly funds state and local programs and not electricity costs.
The top-line findings should ring alarm bells for blue state leaders who are attempting to repackage costly mandates as affordable policies.
Blue-state voters’ dismay with costly green energy mandates isn’t solely isolated to New York.
Independent Women’s New England Energy Survey, released in January 2026 and polling exclusively women in the six New England states, found 53% of women said they felt misled about the cost of transition to 100% renewable energy.
In Independent Women’s recently released “Reclaiming Affordability: Winning the Cost War with the Right Solutions” report, I detail how state policies —not the Trump administration, data centers, or energy companies—are driving higher costs. Under the Federal Power Act, Congress delegated to states the power to regulate electricity markets.
Blue states, unsurprisingly, have higher electricity rates compared to red states without them due to policies that include fossil fuel phaseouts, renewable portfolio standards (RPS), membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and electric vehicle (EV) mandates.
To learn more about high electricity rates in blue states, go HERE.