Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants, who attended the hearings, said learning about the variation in tenants’ utility costs was particularly eye-opening. Hefty utility bills threaten housing affordability for tenants of all stripes, with the lowest-income New Yorkers especially at risk. But electrified heating systems can include separate meters for each apartment, making households responsible for their heating bills. Higher utility bills could send more households into this threshold — and many residents already struggle on that front. Those policies limit use of older, less efficient electric heating systems and direct landlords to pay for heating in some instances.