News Release Date: June 16, 2011
LIPA Acts to Modernize Power Resources and Manage Costs on Behalf of Customers
Moves to phase out Far Rockaway and Glenwood Power Plants
1950’s plants provide less than 2 percent of LIPA’s total energy requirements
Phase out will not impact LIPA’s reliability or energy capacity
(Uniondale, NY) - Today, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), in an agreement with National Grid, announced it will seek approval from its Board of Trustees to remove the Far Rockaway and Glenwood power plants from their current Power Supply Agreement (PSA). These plants are the oldest, most inefficient and expensive plants on Long Island.
These circa 1950’s plants are running less and less each year, currently representing less than 2 percent of LIPA’s total energy requirements. Consistent with power purchase agreements in the industry, LIPA pays for the full capacity of the plants whether they operate or not. LIPA pays for the plants to be available when needed to meet statewide and local system reliability requirements. By removing these plants and upgrading the electric system, LIPA customers will benefit from the same high levels of reliability that customers have come to expect, lower costs, and lower adverse air, land, and water impacts. The net savings associated from the removal of the plants is approximately $76 million through 2015.
“Consistent with LIPA’s 2010 Electric Resource Plan, we are continuing to transition our power generation supply to newer and more efficient generation, modernizing the electric system and lowering costs to our customers,” said Paul DeCotis, Vice President of Power Markets for the Long Island Power Authority. “This is a business decision that will save customers hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 20 years. We are pleased that LIPA and National Grid were able to reach an agreement that will have little negative local impact to communities and provides a multiyear transition plan for closing these plants. Once taken out of service, the plant sites will be remediated and available for future new development opportunities consistent with local zoning and community needs.”
James Flannery, Director of Power Plant Operations for National Grid, said the company is working with LIPA and taking action that results from LIPA’s decision to exercise its rights in the PSA. “National Grid worked closely with LIPA to help it find the right decision for its customers and Long Island’s energy future,” Flannery said. “We are committed to completing the work needed to assure the Long Island energy network will continue to operate reliably without these plants, and then move to a timely decommissioning and dismantling of the sites.”
Flannery added that dismantling the plants is the only prudent option for the facilities, noting that the plants are uneconomic, and that National Grid’s regulatory agreements in New York do not include authorization to operate power plants outside of its relationship with LIPA.
The decommissioning and demolition of the sites by
National Grid is expected to take 12 to 24 months to
complete and will include an environmental assessment.
By decommissioning these plants, Long Islanders will benefit
from the reduction of 95,000-143,000 tons of Carbon Dioxide
on an annual basis which is equivalent to removing
16,000-24,000 cars off the road. In addition, 50 to 90 tons
of Nitrogen Oxide (NOX), the precursor to ozone (smog)
formation, will be reduced.
“Closing these plants enables us to open the door to cleaner options, said Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This is terrific news and a great start to moving forward with Long Island’s new energy future.”
As each plant is shuttered, it is expected that the property taxes would be reduced accordingly to reflect lower property values. National Grid will be meeting with school and county officials to discuss the impact of property tax reductions.
Glenwood Power Station
Glenwood Power Station is located in Glenwood Landing on the
North Shore of Long Island. The station has two natural gas
fired units, Nos. 4 and 5, each capable producing 100
megawatts of electricity. The units went into service in
1952 and 1954 respectively. The Glenwood site has been used
for a succession of power plants since 1905. The Glenwood
Energy Center has 3 gas turbines that will remain on the
site as well as 2 additional gas turbines located adjacent
to the steam plant, these units are not part of the ramp
down.
Far Rockaway Power Station
Far Rockaway Power Station is located in Far Rockaway,
Queens along Jamaica Bay. The station has one unit, No. 4,
which is fueled by natural gas. The unit is capable of
producing 100 megawatts of electricity. Unit No. 4 was built
in 1953 to use both coal and fuel oil and converted to
oil/natural gas in 1966. The original station had
steam-engine generators, and went into operation in 1899.
National Grid
National Grid is an international energy delivery company.
In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to
approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the
electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with
the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest
distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving
approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also
owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity
generation that provides power to over one million LIPA
customers.
LIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2011, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State for frequency and duration of service interruptions. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at http://www.lipower.org.
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