Dive Brief:
- New York grid operator NY-ISO has released its annual trend report "Powering Trends 2014: Evolution of the Grid," calling for more collaboration between regulators and the industry to tackle the challenges ahead.
- The report pinpointed these key challenges: 1) Peak demand growing at 0.83% annually over the next decade compared to average demand growing 0.16% over the same period. 2) Supply resource margins have declined, with the surplus at 1,900 MW and more coal power plants scheduled for retirement. 3) Natural gas dependency is making wholesale electricity prices more reflective of rising, volatile natural gas prices. Natural gas-fired plants make up more than 50% of the state's generation capacity and 70% of scheduled generation projects use the fuel.
- To achieve a sustainable and reliable energy future for the state, there has to be greater "active collaboration" on a regional level, "analysis of economic trends," "high-tech upgrades" made to the grid and beneficial "public policy" engagement.
Dive Insight:
New York may already be on its way to solving several aspects of these challenges. Regional collaboration is already in place between NY-ISO and nearby grid operator PJM Interconnection. Launched in 2013, the Market-to-Market Congestion Relief Coordination scheme, where one operator provides relief power supply to the other during times of peak load, has saved about $4.7 million in its first year by keeping power flowing as it should, and has the potential to save even more in the future.
The state's Reforming the Energy Vision proposal should also help to mitigate some of the challenges faced by the state. The proposal pushes utilities toward cleaner, more sustainable energy resources such as distributed renewables, energy efficiency and demand response.