City should run ‘green’ utilities – Stringer

City comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer wants to pull the plug on fossil fuels.

He unveiled a climate action plan Sunday, including a “public takeover of utilities.”

Stringer (photo) envisioned the creation of a public utility similar to ones in Austin, Los Angeles, San Antonio and Seattle.

The proposal comes after perennial criticism from elected officials that existing for-profit utilities Con Ed and National Grid are charging too much for questionable service.

Stringer said a public utility could “power New York with 100% renewable energy by 2035 or sooner.” By comparison, Gov. Cuomo’s state energy plan calls for 70% of power to come from renewable sources by 2030.

Stringer didn’t put a price tag on his idea or detail the regulatory hurdles that might be involved.

His climate-crisis agenda included a ban on new fossil fuel infrastructure and a plan to turn Rikers Island into a green-energy hub once the notorious jail complex is shut down.

The latter idea has gained renewed momentum since the City Council voted in 2019 to close Rikers.

“Utilizing the island’s 400 acres as a venue for battery storage could allow for the permanent closure of nearby peaker plants in northern Queens, the South Bronx and northern Manhattan,” according to Stringer.

Bill McKibben, founder of environmentalist group 350.org, applauded Stringer’s proposals.

“This plan will be the most progressive municipal climate action in the nation and it will lay the groundwork for a New York that can both thrive and help drive the global solutions we desperately need,” McKibben said in a statement.

Mayor de Blasio’s ex-Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, another mayoral contender, has also emphasized climate change during her campaign. She is eyeing Rikers as a renewable energy hub, and promised a “save-as-youthrow” program that incentivizes recycling.