Small businesses need a more efficient market and lower energy prices in order to compete with larger companies and to reduce operational concerns. One solution is expanding New York’s transmission system, according to a recent NYISO report.
There is currently a mismatch of regional power resources that complicates the reliability of New York’s power grid. The majority of the state’s hydropower resources, wind power projects, and proposed land-based wind power projects are based in the northern and western regions of New York. Hundreds of miles away, the metropolitan downstate region—including New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley—consumes roughly 66 percent of the state’s electric energy. But the power plants downstate only generate 53 percent of the state’s electricity.
During the periods of highest demand, the downstate region needs around 72 percent of New York’s peak power. The power plants downstate can only provide 63 percent of New York’s demands during peak periods. Because of this, the state needs to pay more to supply the area from farther distances and the local, less clean production is more expensive.
The transmission system’s congestion signals the need for expansion. “Strategic transmission investment will enable upstate resources to better serve the broader, statewide market—providing benefits such as a more resilient grid, access to more diverse energy resources and more efficient market competition,” said NYISO Manager of Media Relations Dave Flanagan.
