Staff of the New York Public Service Commission said Thursday that the state’s utilities have 41 GW of capacity for the summer, more than enough to meet a projected summer peak of 33.2 GW.

“We have plenty of reserves, and prices are going to be moderate,” Mike Worden, director of the office of electric, gas and water, said in delivering the New York 2017 Summer Preparedness Report at the commission’s May 18 meeting.

The report forecast capability this summer to be 123.6% of demand. The total capability requirement, including the 18% installed reserve margin, is 39,150 MW.

Commissioner Diane Burman asked Leka Gjonaj, chief of bulk electric systems, if the peak load forecast would change if the economy grew more than expected. He replied that NYISO includes econometrics in its forecasts and they would adjust those values to reflect higher growth rates if necessary.

“Peak loads continue to decline, and while we can’t line up the reasons one-on-one … we can point to several things that have contributed to it,” Worden said. “Contributing factors include more energy efficiency, more conservation and more distributed generation, and the positive REV [Reforming the Energy Vision] policies that the commission has enacted over the last three years.”

— Michael Kuser