This week the nation celebrates the need for government openness during the annual “Sunshine Week.” The logic for requiring that American government operate openly was best articulated by James Madison, former President and a key figure in the Constitutional Convention, who commented “A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both.”

Unfortunately, as regular observers of the Albany scene know, far too much of New York’s important decision-making occurs in secret behind closed doors. But even the most jaded have been surprised at what’s going on with this year’s budget negotiations.

Late last month, Governor Hochul amped up public pressure with a vague proposal to change New York’s seven-year-old Climate Law. The governor has urged modification of the law in the past, but she placed no proposal in her budget, nor in her budget amendments, and her current plan was informally announced as the budget hearings were wrapping up. Moreover, as of late last week, the governor had still not submitted to the Legislature (at least as far as we know) a written proposal at all. Thus, there was no meaningful way for her proposal to face public scrutiny.

The governor’s argument alleges that rising energy costs are the result of the Climate Law, which just happens to echo the messaging by a multi-million-dollar propaganda campaign launched by the Law’s opponents. Those opponents include the oil and gas industry and large investor-owned utilities.

But is the claim that the Climate Law is the biggest factor in rising energy costs true? Short answer: no.

Here in the Northeast, an obvious reason for electricity price hikes is increases in the cost of fuel, not the Climate Law. The region relies heavily on natural gas as both a home heating fuel and a source of utility-scale electricity. And gas prices have soared over the past year. The war in Iran is making those costs go up even more.

Yet, getting the power to your home is an even bigger factor. About two-thirds of utility bills are the result of those costs and they are going up faster than inflation. Of course, the unusually cold winter has also contributed to higher than usual energy costs.

Looking ahead, energy experts are warning that electricity costs will continue to go up, largely due to the need to modernize the power grid and to deal with the mushrooming number of data centers, which demand astronomical amounts of energy.

Addressing the worsening climate crisis – last year was one of the hottest in recorded history – will undoubtedly impact rising energy costs. Yet the state itself examined this cost and found that when it comes to the climate crisis, “The cost of inaction exceeds the cost of action by more than $115 billion.”

Looking at the cheapest way to produce the power that we need is the obvious way for policymakers to go. When it comes to that, it is well established that solar power is the cheapest and that setting up solar power generators is also the quickest way to generate power – even re-powering old fossil fuels facilities can take a few years to get up and running.

Yes, energy costs are going up, but here in New York our ranking – in terms of a residential electricity rates compared among the states – is essentially unchanged over the past decade.

Governor Hochul says that the Climate Law is hurting people’s pocketbooks. Yet the facts show that reliance on gas power, an aging power grid, and the specter of unregulated growth in data centers, are far bigger hits to ratepayers. Of course, an open, public debate over the issue – not a negotiation shrouded in secrecy – would shed some much-needed light on that conclusion.

When it comes to “Sunshine Week” New Yorkers should remember, openness in government is a prerequisite to good governance and that sunshine also delivers the cheapest electricity. Let’s hope the Legislature demands both.