ALBANY, N.Y. — Justin Driscoll, the interim CEO of the New York Power Authority, remained in limbo as the state Senate finished its legislative session Friday without voting to confirm him.

Driscoll has been serving in an interim role since 2021, and the NYPA Board of Trustees voted to appoint him subject to Senate approval on July 26, 2022, after he was recommended as president and CEO by Gov. Kathy Hochul (D).

Driscoll had previously served as executive vice president and general counsel to NYPA, among other public roles, but environmental and labor groups mobilized to oppose him, citing his time in the private sector and recent comments on climate legislation.

Environmentalists and climate action groups claimed that Driscoll’s past legal work for fossil fuel companies, donations to Republicans, and opposition to the Build Public Renewables Act made him unqualified to lead an agency with an ever-expanding role in New York’s clean energy transition. The law makes the NYPA the sole provider of energy to all state owned and municipal properties and requires the authority to provide only renewable energy. The bill, which passed the legislature in May as part of the state budget, also requires that NYPA pay prevailing wages and use project labor agreements. (See “NYPA’s New Roles,” NY to Begin Banning Gas in New Construction in 2026.)

Meanwhile, Driscoll’s supporters credit him for his ability to work with everyone in the industry and for his extensive knowledge of how to achieve net-zero emissions without excessive costs or threats to reliability.

The Senate’s refusal to act on Driscoll’s appointment points to the state’s current dynamics. Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the legislature, recently torpedoed a Hochul judicial nominee whom they felt was too conservative.

Driscoll expressed support for NYPA’s expanded role in New York’s energy market in February.

“Government can play a role. Nobody is suggesting that government be the only tool. But just given the enormity of what we’re looking to achieve here, we think that NYPA and government can play an ancillary role in the energy transition,” he testified to the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. (See NYPA Leader Says Expansion not Threat to Private Sector.)

But Driscoll was challenged in a joint legislative hearing, with Assemblyperson Zohran Kwame Mamdani, a New York City Democrat, pressing him on whether labor unions have been involved in NYPA’s work. (See “NYPA Boost,” NY Legislators Press Hochul Officials on Energy Transition.)

Organized labor has split over Driscoll’s nomination, with the Communications Workers of America District 1 tweeting, “NYPA is in good hands with Justin.”

United Auto Workers Region 9A, however, wrote they “were proud to support the #BuildPublicRenewables Act to turn the New York Power Authority into a national renewable energy leader,” adding that “New York needs a NYPA CEO who can lead with that vision” but “Justin Driscoll is not that person.”

At a confirmation hearing last week, Driscoll also had to respond to a report in The Buffalo News quoting allegations that he refused as NYPA’s general counsel to investigate allegations of racial discrimination at the authority. “Anyone who knows me knows that’s not me, that’s not how I operate,” Driscoll testified, according to the News. “I would never try to minimize complaints.”

Opposition

After learning that Driscoll would not be put up for a vote, Sen. Jabari Brisport, a Democrat representing parts of Northern Brooklyn, wrote, “New Yorkers spoke out so loudly against Justin Driscoll because he is quite clearly not an acceptable option to lead the historic transition mandated in the Build Public Renewables Act.

“NYPA needs a president who cares about environmental justice and labor rights, but Gov. Hochul has so far failed to put forward someone who meets that bare minimum,” he added.

The left-leaning New York Working Families Party tweeted that “Driscoll’s close ties to fossil fuel lobbyists, contributions to climate-denying candidates and parties, and stated opposition to expanding green energy production through the BPRA makes him a poor fit to lead the NYPA into the future.”

Public Power NY, a collection of New York grassroot organizations focused on clean energy, wrote in an email sent after reports confirmed Driscoll would not receive a vote, that “thousands of New Yorkers mobilized this past week to ‘Dump Driscoll.’

“We look forward to collaborating with stakeholders to ensure we find the most qualified person to lead NYPA,” the group added.

Supporters

The Municipal Electric Utilities Association of New York State, had earlier shared its support, writing “that Mr. Driscoll is well qualified and the right choice to lead NYPA into its next chapter.”

The New York Association of Public Power (NYAPP), a group of municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives, also supported the nomination, tweeting, “Justin is the right person to lead NYPA.”

NYPA forwarded an email inquiry from NetZero Insider to the governor’s office, which responded with a statement from a spokesperson: “Following a national search last year, Gov. Hochul recommended Justin Driscoll for president and CEO of the New York Power Authority because he has the expertise to lead the nation’s largest state-owned utility, helping New York to achieve its ambitious climate goals using both NYPA’s existing authorities and its expanded mandate to build renewable energy secured in the FY24 State Budget.”

The spokesperson also confirmed that Driscoll would remain in his acting position.