New York’s aging electrical grid infrastructure is causing higher utility bills.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration finds the state’s electricity costs have been steadily rising since 2020 and are among the highest in the nation.
A report from the New York Independent System Operator adds the state’s grid infrastructure is past its prime and struggling to keep up with growing demand.
Marguerite Wells, executive director of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, said this stems from decades of deferred maintenance.
“The Public Service Commission has not wanted the utilities to spend money on that stuff, so they haven’t spent the money, and so it’s finally catching up with them,” said Wells. “Now, we have very electrified lives, not just because we’re electrifying transportation and our homes, but also because people expect more from the electric system.”
Aside from replacing old infrastructure, Wells said the PSC can also expedite certain projects, though this isn’t happening.
In August, the Public Service Commission rejected a petition from New York’s Power Authority to expedite the Clean Path project, which would relieve transmission congestion between upstate and downstate New York.
Critics blame renewable energy for raising New Yorkers’ electric bills. But Wells called this misinformation, because there are not enough renewables to make a significant difference to the electrical grid.
She said federal efforts to reduce renewables will raise electricity costs.
“Cause it’s going to mean that there’s less power available to the grid, so the power that’s there is going to get more expensive, just based on those laws of supply and demand,” said Wells. “I think the feds are really hoping that fossil fuel power plants can start popping up like mushrooms in the night, but the truth is, they’re no faster to get built than most things.”
She added that there are more building opportunities for renewable energy projects than for fossil fuel plants.
However, it’s difficult to capitalize on those opportunities because the Trump Administration is halting the construction of offshore wind farms and has blocked or significantly delayed permitting of onshore wind and solar nationwide, too.
An Aurora Energy Research report finds that if several New York offshore wind farms had been operating during one high-cost month in 2022, it would have saved ratepayers $77 million.
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