The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) has released its Short-Term Assessment of Reliability (STAR) of the bulk electric system for the period April 15, 2023, through April 15, 2028, which found a deficit of 446 MW in reliability margins for the New York City area beginning in summer 2025 due to an increase in peak demand and the unavailability of certain generators.
Increased electrification of the transportation and building sectors, continued economic growth following the pandemic, and the unavailability or retirement of select generators under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s emissions limits, effective May 2023, are the main causes for the New York City’s reliability need in 2025.
“The reliability of the electric system is essential to the health and safety for all New Yorkers as well as the state’s economy,” said Zach Smith, NYISO’s Vice President of System and Resource Planning. “The NYISO will now work to identify solutions to the reliability need identified in New York City.”
The reliability need is based on a deficiency in transmission security. The STAR report found that New York City’s reliability margin would improve on the completion of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line from Quebec to New York City, expected to be operational by spring 2026, beyond 2025. NYISO will closely monitor the development of CHPE, as any delay in its schedule will result in additional transmission security concerns, as per the report.
NYISO will initiate steps to bring reliability margins back to acceptable operating levels by working with the local utility and the marketplace to identify and evaluate possible solutions. Reliability rules that determine the acceptable levels of transmission security are determined by several entities that are responsible for overseeing the reliability of the bulk electric system, including the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, the New York State Reliability Council and the New York State Public Service Commission.
