LIPA Moves on Emergency Stand-By Power To Help Meet Extraordinary Summer Demand

200 Megawatts of Portable Generation
to be Placed at Three Locations

Huntington, NY -- June 18, 2002 -- Due to the recent failures of LIPA's two major transmission lines, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) will install 200 MW of temporary emergency stand-by generation at three locations by the first week of July. The emergency stand by generation will be used only as a last resort measure to keep the lights on.

LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel said that the emergency stand-by generators, 10 portable General Electric TM 2500 combustion turbines, will be placed into service only if it is absolutely necessary to avoid rolling blackouts on Long Island during periods of extreme heat and humidity that could push LIPA's available electric supply to its limits.

Mr. Kessel said that LIPA's decision to add emergency generation came as a result of a loss of both of LIPA's major transmission lines within a two-week period. While one line, Y-49 is now back in full service; the Y-50 cable is still out of service and undergoing repairs.

The Y-50 cable failure not only reduces the amount of electricity that can be supplied to Long Island from off-island sources by 400 megawatts (MW); it also limits the ability to import electricity over the Norwalk to Northport cable by an additional 100 MW.

Mr. Kessel also pointed out that the new cross-Sound cable may not be available to carry electricity to Long Island until mid-July, and that four of LIPA's ten new peaking turbines may not be ready until mid to late July. That's an additional 489 MW of power that may not be available when needed if a heat wave should occur in late June or early to mid July.

"We need the emergency stand-by generators as an insurance policy," said LIPA chairman Richard M. Kessel. "Two cable failures in two weeks underscores how vulnerable Long Island is to the loss of off-island electricity supplies. The stand-by generators will provide us with a small emergency electric supply, which could be the margin between keeping the lights on on Long Island during an extreme heat wave."

Mr. Kessel underscored the fact that the emergency stand-by generators will only be used during periods of extreme heat and only if absolutely necessary to prevent rolling blackouts.

The GE TM2500 units and operating systems are portable generation platforms that are self contained and transported on a mobile 4-trailer system. They can generate approximately 20 MW of power each, and will use ultra-low and low-sulfur fuel that LIPA will acquire on special order from suppliers.

Since the portable turbines will have a limited use and will only be available for use during July, August and part of September, the generators are exempt from a State Environmental Quality Review Act assessment. However, LIPA will undertake an environmental assessment in order to identify any potentially significant impacts that could be caused by the limited use of the stand-by generators, and take appropriate action to minimize any potential impacts.

Siting the portable units for rapid availability requires the emergency stand-by generators to be located near existing LIPA substations that can accommodate the electricity that can be produced by the units. As a result, four of the units will be placed at KeySpan's Wading River facility; three will be placed at LIPA's Shoreham location; and three will be placed at the New York Power Authority's Holtsville facility.

"We made every attempt possible to have an adequate supply of electricity available this summer to meet Long Island's growing demand for energy," said Mr. Kessel. "It's entirely possible that demand could exceed 5200 MW if we have a heat wave like last August. With the Y-50 cable out until at least mid-July, and with the new cable and some of the new peaking turbines unavailable until about the same time, we must use stand-by generation to fills gaps that could cause blackouts if we don’t have enough capacity to meet demand."

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