ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today approved New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) 2026 Clean Energy Standard (CES) administrative budget, including funding the Zero Emission Credit (ZEC) program. The Commission also accepted the final Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) related to the ZEC program extension proposal and NYSERDA’s petition regarding its Clean Transportation Prize program. 

“The decisions we make today support the continued private investment in New York State’s growing clean energy economy,” said Commission Chair Rory M. Christian. “By supporting advanced, emissions-free transportation and generation, we are spurring the creation of a clean energy economy, helping to create good paying jobs, and ensuring that New York’s energy system remains reliable and affordable for customers.” 

Clean Energy Standard: The Commission approved, with modifications, NYSERDA’s 2026 CES administrative budget, including funding the ZEC program via an administrative adder. NYSERDA had requested $34.78 million to support the 2026 CES compliance year budget. The Commission ultimately approved a budget of $31.4 million, a 15 percent decrease from the CES 2025 budget.  This budget modification was to reflect the current renewable project landscape and reduce the burden on ratepayers. This funding will support NYSERDA’s CES staff salaries and overhead, system development, technical support, and the New York State Cost Recovery Fee. NYSERDA will fund its 2026 CES administrative budget with revenues from previous years including bid fees, alternative compliance payments, and interest income. The ZEC program would continue to be funded with an administrative adder. NYSERDA's CES budget addresses the continued growth of workload for the administration of CES programs including managing more than 100 renewable energy generator contracts.

In a related ZEC action, the Commission accepted the final SGEIS related to the ZEC program extension proposal. With the SGEIS finalized, the Commission may now prepare a findings statement as required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act. A findings statement is required before the Commission may act on the underlying ZEC program extension proposal.

Clean Transportation Prize: The Commission approved, with modifications, NYSERDA’s petition for its Clean Transportation Prize Program. In its petition, NYSERDA requested a two-year extension for nine of the 10 Clean Transportation Prize winners and a five-year extension for one of the Clean Transportation Prize winners. After the petition was filed, NYSERDA submitted a notice advising that two of the awarded projects had been cancelled. Additionally, NYSERDA requested a budget increase of approximately $500,000, or 15 percent, to provide additional program implementation support to administer the program for a longer period than originally anticipated. Finally, the petition proposes additional, publicly available, reporting requirements.

The Commission also approved the additional reporting requirements to ensure greater visibility and oversight of NYSERDA's administration of the Clean Transportation Prize Program, but the Commission denied the budget modification NYSERDA sought because there are now fewer projects to manage.

Today’s decisions may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Numbers 15-E-0302 (Clean Energy Standard) or 18-E-0138 (Clean Transportation) in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.