New York's 100 Foot Rule Repealed

No one likes paying for something that isn’t theirs. And New York has been trying to lower our dependence on natural gas for energy. So what law connects these two? Law S.8417/A.888 does. This law, signed by Governor Hochul on December 19, 2025, repeals New York State’s old “100 foot rule” for gas subsidies. 

The “100 foot rule” has been in the public service law of New York for over 40 years. It required any residential building within 100 feet of an existing gas line to be added to the line at the expense of people already using that gas line. For instance, if your building was connected to a gas line that a new building was built next to, your energy bill would go up to pay for the new building’s energy. 

Every year this law has cost New Yorkers over $600 million dollars in energy payments. Now, the repeal of the “100 foot rule” does not mean people will go without energy. It means the energy companies and new residents will have to pay for expanding their network, not people already on the network. 

However, some people have concerns about the instability it can cause to new residents. The law will raise costs for those new residents, and potentially make them less likely to access natural gas as an energy resource. 

New York is still reliant on natural gas for energy. About six in ten people heat their homes with natural gas. But that is only more of a reason to start moving resources into the transition to renewable sources. 

New York state has access to solar, wind, nuclear, and hydroelectric power. But as funding is cut to those power plants, we lose that access to cleaner energy. By forcing the bill up for energy companies, the government hopes to discourage New York’s increasing reliance on natural gas and hopefully transition into renewable energy.