In wrapping up the state legislative business in Albany in June, a bill passed the Assembly and Senate that will endanger jobs, increase costs for families, limit energy choices and push New York’s already strained electric grid closer to its limits.

The bill in question eliminates the longstanding “100-foot rule,” which requires utilities to provide natural gas service free of charge to properties within 100 feet of an existing gas main.

Historically, these connection costs — like system maintenance and upgrades — were shared across the customer base, costing just pennies per household. If this bill becomes law, however, families and small businesses would be forced to shoulder the full, often unaffordable, cost of new gas connections on their own.

The goal of this bill is clear: discourage the use of gas for heating and cooking and force a direct transition to electric systems. But the state is not yet ready — either in terms of........

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