New York passed a publicly funded renewable energy program. This is how DSA did it—and how you can too.
by Ashley Dawson, The Nation
New York just became the first US state to pass a major Green New Deal policy. After four years of organizing, the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) is now in the New York state budget. Passage of the act is a massive challenge to fossil fuel hegemony and a major victory for public power.
The BPRA authorizes and directs the state’s public power provider—the New York Power Authority (NYPA)—to plan, build, and operate renewable energy projects across the state to meet the ambitious timetable to decarbonize the grid mandated by the Climate Act of 2019. The NYPA, the largest public utility in the country, provides the most affordable energy in the state, but until now, it has been prohibited from building and owning new utility-scale renewable generation projects because of lobbying by profit-seeking private energy companies.

How did we win passage of this plan to start a publicly funded renewable energy program?
The Public Power NY movement began in late 2019 with a campaign organized by the eco-socialist working group of the NYC Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) against a rate hike request from the private utility ConEd. According to a 2018 report from the US Energy Information Administration, ConEd was already charging the second-highest residential rates of any major utility in the country (nearly double the national average), and now they wanted to raise electricity rates an additional 6 percent and gas rates by 11 percent.
Recent Posts
Yes, Goddamnit, It’s Genocide!: A Conversation With Norman Solomon
July 25, 2025
Take Action Now Pundits like Bret Stephens continue to deny the reality of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza even as that genocide is…
Every Child Is Born Pre-Polluted
July 25, 2025
Take Action Now Polluted with dangerous, human-made chemicals.By David Swanson So writes Mariah Blake in the preface to her important book, They…
Paramount’s Cowardly Capitulation To Trump Threatens Journalism
July 25, 2025
Take Action Now Paramount is selling out journalism to save its purchase by Skydance.By Ari Paul, FAIR The media production company Skydance is…
U.S. Congress Can Stop Genocide – Why Won’t They?
July 24, 2025
Take Action Now We have to ask: if the United States has the power to stop a genocide, why won’t we?By Rivera Sun Gaza is being starved –…