August 15, 2006

NYPA Astoria Project, Astoria, New York

Dr. Robert Peltier, PE

Reliability first

New York City's generation rules are—like Gotham—unique. A mandate from the New York State Reliability Council and the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) requires that 80% of the city's peak demand be satisfied by power plants within the Big Apple's five boroughs because of transmission constraints that limit its ability to import power. Collectively, those plants also must be able to produce 30% more electricity than the city soaks up on the hottest day of the year.

A July 9, 2006, New York Times editorial noted that the city "gobbles energy like contestants at the Coney Island hot dog eating contest." Power demand continues to grow at about 150 MW/year. If huge proposed development projects on Manhattan's West Side and in Brooklyn's downtown are green-lighted, that number could skyrocket. Cleanliness also is an issue for resource planners. According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's energy task force, as much as 3,000 MW of older capacity should be retired and replaced with more fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies.

New York City has been on the ragged edge of reserve margins for so long that predictions of summer blackouts and brownouts have become an annual routine. It's a good thing that NYPA is still watching the megawatt-hour meter. In August 2000, NYPA began a crash program to install simple-cycle gas turbine plants at six sites in the city and one on Long Island with a total capacity of 460 MW. The PowerNow! Project—a response to predictions of severe power shortages in the summer of 2001—proved its worth during summer 2003, when Consolidated Edison Inc. (New York City's native utility) and the Long Island Power Authority each set demand records, despite the infamous northeast blackout of August 14.