Energy and Our World

This article originally ran on Forbes.com on December 16, 2025. All rights reserved.

Daniel B. Markind is a Forbes.com energy column contributor. The views expressed in this article are not to be associated with the views of Flaster Greenberg PC.

With another winter approaching, and forecasts predicting it could be a severe one, both New York and California face a dismal prospect.  Neither state has enough available energy to meet its potential needs for the winter season, and each may have already exhausted its ability to kick that can down the road any further.

For New York, the situation is exacerbated by the New York City Building Law that will take effect on January 1, 2026, and that basically bans the use of natural gas in any new buildings over seven stories high.  That, of course, means New York City must provide enough electricity from non-fossil fuel sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower to make up the difference, but there is no realistic possibility of that happening.

In 2018, during the last truly difficult winter, New York State and New England actually imported natural gas from Russia.  However, for a variety of reasons, most notably the war with Ukraine, that option no longer exists.  Off course, even if the Russian gas were still available, much of its use would violate the new Building Law in New York City.

For California, the most pressing energy problem is refining capacity.  Just last week, Phillips 66 and Valero confirmed that they would be closing a refinery in California, thereby taking away 17% of the Golden State’s current refining capacity. California’s High Gas Prices Could Climb Further as Refineries Close - The New York Times

Meanwhile, due to its environmental policies, California does not allow the use of normal gasoline for its internal combustion vehicles.  It requires a special mix of fuels, often called California Reformulated Gasoline (CaRFG).  This is part of what causes gas prices to exceed $6.00/gallon in California, and it means that California cannot simply import gasoline from neighboring states to make up the shortfall resulting from the closing refineries.

As for New York, Governor Kathy Hochul, at least, appears to be recognizing the current reality.  Despite a decade long battle to prevent any natural gas pipelines being built that could bring abundant amounts of gas from the Marcellus Shale fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania to the New York City metropolitan area, a distance of only about 100 miles, she recently approved the construction of NESE, the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline that would cut through New Jersey and then through 23 miles of the Raritan Bay in that State to arrive in Queens, New York.  This approval, of course, has been met with howls of anger and objection by the State’s well-organized and funded environmental lobby.  Expect a real battle ahead.

While NESE won’t solve New York’s immediate needs, it at least provides the beginning of a plan for solidifying New York’s energy supply in the medium term, while the State continues to  struggle to establish a renewables-based grid.

By contrast, little of that realism appears in evidence in California at all. Specifically, Governor Gavin Newsom has provided little in the way of a real plan for powering the State in the immediate and near-term future.  Already reeling from years of outward migration and the devastating fires of 2025, there appears little reason for optimism in California’s energy policies for 2026 and beyond.

While Governor Newsom has presidential aspirations, addressing this long term energy train wreck may need to be his main focus for most of the foreseeable future.  From past experience with energy shortages and high prices, it appears difficult to sell Americans on the prospect of nationwide $6.00/gallon gas. It will no doubt be even more difficult if this winter brings about even greater energy hardship for the people of California.