By William Opalka

New York has adequate resources and improved operational practices to face the upcoming winter, a NYISO official told FERC on Thursday. But the infrastructure must still perform, Wes Yeomans, vice president for operations, told the commission.

New York still has a wide diversity of resources, with hydro at 11% of generating capacity and six nuclear facilities representing 14% of capacity, Yeomans said. But the overwhelming resource of choice is natural gas — representing 55% of capacity statewide and 95% in New York City.

More than 80% of gas generation can switch to oil when heating homes and businesses takes priority during cold snaps. “That really is the cornerstone of how we maintain reliability,” Yeomans said.

But just because a resource has dual-fuel capability does not mean it would be available to switch to oil.

“A generator may have the capability to be dual-fuel, but they may make the business decision not to update their permits, or their maintenance, or add oil on-site,” he said.

Yeomans added that in New York, it may be financially advantageous for generators to have lower inventory on-site but rather have “fantastic arrangements” with suppliers to have access to inventory when needed. “Our experience has been that this works pretty good,” he said.

NYISO monitors its resource base through the seasonal generation fuel survey that was recently distributed.

One operational change effective Nov. 1 is an increase in the operating reserve requirement from 1,965 MW to 2,620 MW in day-ahead and real time. Reserve shortages would gradually raise prices and incent the market.

Forward reserve contracts will send price signals to generators “to go buy the fuel,” Yeomans said. “Having this reflected in our real-time pricing is a very significant step.”

Capacity margins in New York are about 10,000 MW but drop to a still-adequate 4,700 MW on a peak day during a once-in-10-year cold snap.

Other initiatives include site visits to units with low capacity factors to identify ways to improve performance. NYISO is also introducing a web-based, fuel survey “portal” that will go into production in December. This will provide the opportunity for generators to post fuel conditions to a video board for ISO operators replacing a manual process.

Yeomans said the ISO has become better at managing its morning ramp, which comes at the end of the gas day, resulting in fewer deratings of its gas generators.

After all the changes were described, the room erupted in nervous laughter when FERC Chairman Norman Bay asked Yeomans about his “comfort level” going into the winter.

“Comfort,” Yeomans said, “is a strong word.”