NYPA Activates Peak Load Management Program; New York City Customers Cut Peak Demand by More Than 50,000 Kilowatts

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Michael Saltzman
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michael.saltzman@nypa.gov

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July 2, 2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—To accommodate increased demand for electricity resulting from extreme summer heat, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) today activated its Peak Load Management program (PLM) to help reduce power usage during peak-demand hours.  The action will cut electricity use in New York City by more than 50,000 kilowatts (kw), an amount equivalent to the output of more than one small power plant.

NYPA customers participating in its Peak Load Management Program receive $40 for each kilowatt of electricity they commit to save when called on during the high-demand months, from June through September. The Power Authority may make such requests for up to 15 weekdays during those months, with the standard duration of the reductions lasting up to six hours. The participants achieve the power cutbacks by implementing energy-saving measures such as turning off or dimming non-essential lighting and adjusting air-conditioning settings, and using their own on-site generators. The Power Authority began the program as a demonstration project in 1999.

Among the participants in the program are New York City government, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the City University of New York, the State University of New York, and Salomon Smith Barney.

New York Power Authority Chairman Louis P. Ciminelli said, “NYPA’s Peak Load Management program is part of a statewide effort to reduce the peak demand for electricity to assure the reliability of New York State’s electricity supplies.”

New York State government has assumed a leadership role in developing demand response and energy efficiency initiatives through the inter-agency task force for the Coordinated Electricity Demand Reduction Initiative (CEDRI). The task force includes NYPA, the New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and the State Public Service Commission (PSC). CEDRI employs enhanced load management and demand response programs, distributed generation and public awareness campaigns to sustain the reliability of New York State’s electricity supplies during the peak demand periods caused by summer heat.

In addition to the more than 50,000 kilowatts of demand reduction from NYPA’s New York City customers enrolled in the Peak Load Management Program, NYPA has enlisted its customers throughout the state to commit to more than 360,000 kilowatts of energy reductions under separate contract arrangements or though New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) demand reduction programs.