ALBANY - The New York State Public Service Commission today instituted a proceeding to examine repowering alternatives to utility power plant reinforcements and directed National Grid and New York State Electric and Gas Corporation (NYSEG) to work with generation owners to evaluate repowering of two power plants, including Dunkirk, in upstate New York.
"Evaluating repowering is consistent with the New York Energy Highway Task Force Blueprint which citied the potential benefits of repowering and recommends that electric utilities be required to analyze repowering as an alternative to transmission system upgrades when a facility needed for reliability proposes to retire," said Commission Chairman Garry Brown.
The Commission directed National Grid to evaluate repowering as an alternative outcome for the Dunkirk generating station and NYSEG to do the same for the Cayuga generating stations. The closing of the power plants could cause reliability concerns. The companies will examine the relative costs and benefits of repowering the plants at their existing sites compared to alternative transmission upgrades over the long term. The benefits to be evaluated include the reliability, environmental, and customer impacts associated with the repowering and transmission solutions.
