NYC power grid heading for trouble: Grid operator shares concerning forecast

New Yorkʼs power system faces future shortages due to growing electric demand and closing power stations. City might experience first power issues in about 8 years if new projects dont move forward

November 22 2024 , 01:17 AM  •  1660 views

NYC power grid heading for trouble: Grid operator shares concerning forecast

New York Independent System Operator points to big-time power problems coming to NYC: the city might run short on juice by mid-2030s. The math dont look good - more buildings going electric while old-school power plants keep shutting down

The citys power needs are going up fast (thanks to e-cars data-centers and micro-chip makers) but the supply-side isnt keeping up; experts say we could see a 17-mega-watt gap for one hour in summer-2033‚ growing to 97-mega-watts next year

Some hope comes from the super-sized Champlain Hudson project - a 340-mile power-line bringing hydro-power from Canada (its supposed to be ready in spring-2026). But these big-time infrastructure projects often hit speed-bumps: permits lawsuits and other red-tape can slow things down

The whole situation gets extra-tricky because NYCʼs peak power use might flip-flop from summer to winter - as more folks switch to electric heating. NYISO experts say theres still time to fix this mess: new power stations better energy-use; and faster power-line building could save the day. But if that Canadian power-line project gets stuck in the mud NYC might see problems as soon as 2026