The Democrat running to unseat New York Republican incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17) is showing how out of touch she is with regular New Yorkers when it comes to energy costs.

Cait Conley, a fourth-generation Hudson Valley native and West Point graduate, is running against Lawler. But, with New York having the third highest electricity costs in the nation, she has shown she has no real solution to alleviating the impact of exorbitant energy bills.

She recently celebrated her endorsement by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which touted her record on green energy.

At the center of the issue is the ongoing debate over the nuclear power plant at Indian Point, which was shut down in 2021 under former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Lawler has argued for rebuilding and reopening the facility to give some relief to ordinary New York residents who are dealing with heightened costs. Indeed, for some, bills have surged by 58 percent since the COVID-19 shutdown.

“The fact is, there’s no better-positioned site for energy generation in the Hudson Valley than Indian Point. The transmission lines are already built and sitting there idle,” Lawler said.

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He added, “That site supplied a quarter of this region’s power before Albany shut it down, and electricity costs have jumped 58 percent since then,” and “New York should be leading on next-generation nuclear, and it should start right here at Indian Point.” 

Conley opposes the idea, referring to the plant as “broken and decrepit” and saying, “It’s no wonder that former utility lobbyist Mike Lawler is willing to do the utility companies’ bidding and reopen broken and decrepit Indian Point.” 

The question is: If Conley opposes reopening the nuclear power plant, what are her solutions? As is typically the case, she offers little more than platitudes and sound bites. She advocates for holding utility monopolies accountable, whatever that means.

“When I’m in Congress, I’ll ensure households across the Hudson Valley are no longer crushed under the weight of soaring energy bills by holding these monopolies accountable, mandating rates be tied to better services, capping CEO bonuses, and increasing our energy supply through investment in projects that utilize our natural resources,” she said.

Of course, she never specified how this would lower energy prices for consumers because she obviously doesn’t actually have a plan for that.

The NRDC Action Fund is the political arm of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a prominent environmental group. The organization has faced scrutiny over its campaign donations and endorsements that push green energy policies that harm farmers and rural economies.

Democrat Rep. Josh Riley (NY-19) accepted $1,000 from the NRDC Action Fund, a group that has targeted farmers by advocating to lease their land for solar panels. 

National Republican Congressional Committee spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said, “Out of touch Democrat Josh Riley is a complete fraud. He wants voters to believe he’s fighting for Upstate farmers, but the truth is, he’s bankrolled by radical groups trying to undermine them. Riley is completely out of step with Upstate voters’ values, and he has no place representing them in Washington.”