By Michael Kuser

The New York Public Service Commission last week said it expects winter electricity prices will be slightly lower than a year ago, based on a declining price trend and normal weather forecast (19-M-0382).

“We anticipate energy consumers will benefit from lower-than-average energy prices this winter, which is welcome news for all of us,” PSC Chair John B. Rhodes said Thursday.

The commission’s Winter Preparedness Report forecasts a similar trend for natural gas, based on a normal weather forecast, but it noted that Enbridge, owner of the Texas Eastern and Algonquin Pipelines, told utilities it would reduce pressure at times this winter on both pipelines.

Resulting capacity reductions would impact deliveries into the Goethals station in Staten Island and the South Manhattan Gate station in Manhattan, requiring measures to offset the loss, the PSC said.

Rhodes on Oct. 11 signed an order forcing National Grid subsidiaries Brooklyn Union Gas and KeySpan Gas East to connect 1,100 of 3,300 customers that had been denied natural gas service connections (19-G-0678).

“We will continue to closely monitor the utilities serving New York state to make sure they have adequate sources and supplies of electricity and natural gas to meet current customer demands this winter,” Rhodes said.

The commission reported sufficient capability to meet electric demand this winter, saying owners of major generators in southeast New York continue “to implement lessons learned from the polar vortex winter of 2013-2014, including having increased pre-winter on-site fuel reserves, having firm contracts with fuel oil suppliers, conducting more aggressive replenishment plans, and having more proactive pre-winter maintenance and facilities preparations.”

Largest Storage Project in New York

The PSC also approved construction of what will be New York’s largest battery storage facility, the 316-MW Ravenswood facility to be built on the Ravenswood Generating Station property in Long Island City, Queens (19-E-0122).

“When complete, this facility will displace energy produced from fossil plants during peak periods, resulting in cleaner air and reduced carbon emissions,” Rhodes said.

The storage facility will displace some out-of-service peaker units on the property and should be partially operational by March 2021, the commission said. It will provide peak capacity, energy and ancillary services; offset more carbon-intensive peak generation with power stored during the off-peak period; and enhance grid reliability in New York City.

Expanding Value Stack Eligibility

The commission also expanded the eligibility of New York Power Authority customers located within Consolidated Edison’s service territory for excess electricity generated by eligible distributed energy resources projects (19-E-0464).

According to NYPA, expanding value stack eligibility to its customers in Con Ed territory will open up DER market potential and help the state meet its goal of installing 6,000 MW of distributed solar by 2025. DER developers will have additional incentive to develop renewable projects in New York City, with many NYPA customers already having committed to develop renewable projects.

New Cybersecurity Rules

The commission also adopted new cybersecurity and data privacy requirements for third-party companies that electronically receive and exchange utility customer data with the utilities’ information technology systems (18-M-0376).

The new requirements provide a foundation of protections to ensure the privacy of customer data and protect utility IT systems, while at the same time enabling data access, the PSC said.