Spikes in Energy Demand Threaten to Overburden NYC and Long Island Electric Grids
Energy intensive industries, aging infrastructure, and constraints on quickly building new power systems have caused spikes in electricity demand that threaten to overburden the five boroughs and Long Island’s electric grids” according to new research by NYISO reported by Crain’s New York. The creation of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), a non-profit entity that manages New York State’s electric market, was authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 1998 for the purpose of creating competitive electricity markets and improving grid reliability. Due to these spikes in energy demand, NYISO warns that “power disruptions are increasingly likely in the region over the next decade without new energy infrastructure coming online,” resulting in more frequent and prolonged power outages beginning as soon as next summer. In 2019, a law passed by New York State’s Climate Leaderships and Community Protection Act “seeks to phase out fossil fuels from the electric grid by 2040.” However, in the interim due to increased energy demands, upgrades to aging fossil fuel plants are needed, and it has become essential that the state uses an “all-of-the-above” approach to meet energy needs through wind, solar, natural gas, and nuclear energy sources. Heightened concerns of the state’s electric grid reliability were sparked by the Northeast Blackout of 1965, which affected over 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada. In response, the New York Power Pool was established by the state’s seven investor-owned utility companies, and 32 years later the proposal was filed by the power pool consortium to form NYISO according to the historical timeline on NYISO’s website.