Headline: New York Declares Power Emergency

Source: Reuters, 7 August 2001 (4:39 PM)

[I am sure this basic story is being repeated with minor variation across most of the U.S. this week, including various power-saving maneuvers for PA state workers here in Harrisburg. I post this article in particular because of the earlier clip about the fight over a new gas pipeline across NY State, and of course the size of NYC.]

URL: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010807/ts/utilities_newyork_heatwave_dc_1.html

On the hottest day of the year, New York urged residents to conserve electricity amid warnings that soaring demand and problems at a few local power plants had cut deeply into the grid's available power supplies.

Millions of New York City workers were told over their office public address systems that the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the New York power system, had declared an energy emergency and Consolidated Edison Inc., the city's main electric utility, called for power load reductions until 7 p.m. Eastern Time.

Although it is not the first energy emergency for the Big Apple, it is the first time the NYISO has activated a new emergency demand reduction program in New York City that calls on major businesses and building managers to voluntarily throttle back their power usage. ``With the entire Northeast setting new power demand records, we are being proactive in calling on the emergency demand reduction program now,'' NYISO spokesman Steve Sullivan told Reuters.

Sullivan explained the NYISO could not afford to wait until later in the day to activate the program because it takes about two hours to take effect.

Under the program, building managers will shut one out of every four elevators, dim lobby lighting, turn up air conditioner thermostats and shut nonessential equipment. The program, which covers more than 300 million square feet of office space, or about 75 percent of the total office space in New York City, is expected to slash power demand by 160 megawatts (MW), enough electricity to power 160,000 homes.

Sullivan said there are enough resources available to meet the heavy air conditioning demand right now, but warned the situation could change quickly if any power plants were forced to shut down. Several plants were already reported to be struggling along at less than full capacity due to boiler tube leaks. ``If those units take a turn for the worse, we could be in trouble,'' Sullivan said.

PLEAS FOR CONSERVATION

So far, the NYISO has asked the state's utilities to initiate energy conservation programs, prompting public pleas to douse unneeded lights, turn up the thermostats on air conditioners, and avoid using major appliances before sundown. These simple steps can save enough energy to avoid utilities having to ``shed load'', a move triggered when electricity demand threatens to outpace supply. Some of those load management actions include asking large industrial customers, who agree in advance to buy electricity at a discount, to shut their operations. They can also include asking local and state governments to send nonessential employees home, requesting commercial power customers like shopping malls to cut power or switch on their own generators, and cutting power sales to neighboring grids.

If these steps fail to stop the load from growing to dangerous levels, Sullivan said the NYISO may be forced to ask utilities to slightly reduce voltage, called a ``brownout.'' Sullivan emphasized the NYISO considered brownouts a highly unlikely last resort and certainly did not anticipate a need to order rolling blackouts, where circuits to entire neighborhoods are shut off for about an hour to avoid collapsing the system.

NO RELIEF FROM ONTARIO OR THE WEATHER

Sullivan said New York could not to turn its Canadian neighbor Ontario for extra power because the province's own loads were running about 1,000 MW above forecasts. Sullivan said the load in New York was 30,400 MW, which broke the all-time record of 30,290 MW set on July 6, 1999. One megawatt provides enough power for about 1,000 homes.

Temperatures in New York were expected to slip from a high of 97 degrees Fahrenheit today to 91 degrees on Wednesday. ``Tomorrow the weather should ease just slightly, so loads should be down. But temperatures will be back up there on Thursday,'' Sullivan said, referring to forecasts that show temperatures rising again on Thursday.

``It's a good thing we tried the emergency demand reduction program today. We can figure out how much load it really cuts. We may need to use (the program) again on Thursday,'' Sullivan said. ``We do not have a lot of power to spare.''

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), August 08, 2001

Answers

Headline: Despite Record Power Use, Northeast Reports Few Failures

Source: New York Times, 8 August 2001

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/08/nyregion/08POWE.html

The broiling heat yesterday pushed electricity use to record levels in New York, New England and several other Eastern Seaboard states, but power companies reported few failures as they braced for more high temperatures this week that could give their systems the toughest test in years.

Operators of electricity grids from Maine to Virginia said that despite the record demand, they had enough power on hand to avert blackouts.

"We are crossing our fingers and holding our breath," said Steven C. Sullivan, a spokesman for the New York Independent System Operator, which runs the state's power grid.

At about 2 p.m., as temperatures climbed into the upper 90's in much of New York, power consumption reached 30,509 megawatts statewide, beating the record of 30,311 megawatts set on July 6, 1999, when temperatures hovered around 100 degrees. (A megawatt can power about 1,000 homes.)

At about 3 p.m. the six-state New England region hit a record of 24,780 megawatts, topping the 24,153 megawatts reached on July 25.

And the operator of the grid covering all or parts of New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia said demand rose to 53,000 megawatts, up from the record of 52,200 set on July 25.

Other parts of the country also reported record demand, including the Milwaukee and Chicago areas.

The New York grid operator did take steps in the afternoon to ease the load on the system. It asked large customers, like stores, factories and office buildings, to curtail energy use until 7 p.m., mainly by setting air- conditioners to a warmer temperature and turning off unnecessary lights. Mr. Sullivan said it was a preventive measure because problems at two upstate generating plants, which were eventually repaired, had threatened to reduce supply.

As part of its request, the grid operator authorized large customers to start emergency diesel generators to help reduce demand, but the agency could not say whether any did.

Power grid operators said they would not be surprised but would be concerned if the record was broken again this week or later this summer. Mr. Sullivan noted that the temperatures yesterday, in the mid- to high 90's, were generally cooler than the 100-plus temperatures of July 6, 1999, the day of the previous high mark.

"What that is doing is underscoring the fact that New York is using a lot more electricity, and we do in fact need more supply," he said.

To help lessen the possibility of power failures, operators of the power grid recommended that all customers set their air-conditioners to a warmer temperature, draw curtains and blinds, and refrain from using major appliances like dishwashers and washing machines until the evening.

This week, Mr. Sullivan said, could give the system its biggest test in years. That is because the heat has blanketed much of the Northeast, meaning that most utilities are running full bore and cannot send any leftover power to New York.

The highest stress on the system, Mr. Sullivan said, usually comes after three consecutive days of blazing heat — in this case, today — as people tire of sweating and crank up their air-conditioners even more.

But Mr. Sullivan said officials were taking heart in a forecast that predicted slightly lower temperatures today, with less humidity. The respite may be short-lived, as temperatures are expected to zoom back up to the high 90's tomorrow and perhaps Friday, when a cold front in the evening is expected to cool things down for the weekend.

Consolidated Edison, which serves New York City and Westchester County, did not break a record for electricity use yesterday; the peak was 11,831 megawatts at 4 p.m.; its record was 12,097 on July 25.

Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for Con Edison, said he believed that a series of announcements urging conservation was having an effect. Even if the utility sets a record later in the week, he predicted that supplies would hold up well enough.

But the real problem, he said, could come from the strain on the system's cables and equipment, which could malfunction under constant heat. In fact, power was cut back to about 5,000 customers in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn for about an hour late in the afternoon because of a malfunction in a distribution cable, he said.

Other utilities, too, worried about how their equipment would stand up to the heat and increased demand.

"Do we have enough electricity today to meet the load? Yeah, we do," said Richard M. Kessel, chairman of the Long Island Power Authority. "But if a plant were to go down or a major piece of equipment were to go down, that would create real problems."

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), August 08, 2001.