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Ahead of Earth Week, Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday announced that the New York State Public Service Commission has instituted a proceeding first detailed in her 2024 State of the State to transition New York to a more connected, affordable, resilient, and clean electric grid. During the proceeding, Public Service Commission staff will engage with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive New York “Grid of the Future” plan that establishes targets for the deployment of flexible resources such as virtual power plants and identifies the utility investments needed to enable the grid of the future.
“New York will continue its tradition of innovation and leadership by building a clean, resilient power grid,” Governor Hochul said. “The Grid of the Future proceeding will help us establish deployment goals and strategies to help meet the State’s nation-leading clean energy goals in a way that protects the wallets of all New Yorkers.”
The proceeding will begin with the development of a grid flexibility study, where Public Service Commission (PSC) staff will estimate the current and future potential capabilities of flexible resources across New York’s electric grid. The study will also identify near-term actions likely to increase the deployment and use of flexible resources and the improved integration of flexible resources into grid planning and grid operations. Upon completion of the study, PSC staff will finalize the inaugural New York Grid of the Future Plan, which must be filed by December 31, 2024. The plan will leverage the grid flexibility study to identify clear and actionable resource deployment goals and will establish key policies that include improved utility planning processes, new forms of compensation for customers who provide flexibility services, advancements in smart grid technologies, physical and cyber security protocols and most importantly, opportunities for customer savings and benefits.
The PSC notes that staff will file an updated plan by no later than December 31, 2025, following a robust stakeholder engagement process that examines the initial plan and the grid flexibility study. Subsequent and periodic updates to the plan are expected, to ensure that customer-benefiting levels of flexible services are enabled, as the grid needs and capabilities continue to evolve
