This wasn’t about trying to address climate change but making New York even more expensive to live in driving out middle class and poor people out.

Electric reliability margins this summer in New York will be “the lowest … in recent history,” with extreme weather and an aging generation mix contributing to a risk of blackouts, the New York Independent System Operator said Friday.

“Coordination with generation owners, utility companies, neighboring grid operators, and government officials will be essential as we work to maintain grid reliability this summer,” Aaron Markham, ISO vice president of operations, said in a statement.

The ISO’s annual summer reliability assessment estimates 34,615 MW of power resources will be available this year to meet forecasted peak demand of 31,578 MW. The ISO said it is required to maintain 2,620 MW from the available resources in reserve, leaving a reliability margin of 417 MW under baseline summer conditions.

New York’s reliability margin has declined almost 80% since 2022, when it was 1,918 MW. 

Here’s a paraphrased version:

According to the assessment, the power grid should handle normal weather conditions adequately, but the safety buffer reserved for extreme heat events is becoming dangerously narrow.

Since 2022, the state’s reliability margin has dropped by nearly 80%. This decline comes as New York pursues aggressive clean energy goals: in 2019, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul enacted the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, mandating that 70% of electricity come from emissions-free sources by 2030, rising to 100% by 2040. The plan depends heavily on wind and solar installations supported by battery storage systems.

Not surprisingly, the governor has back tracked due to the costs associated with the law’s effect. But it’s not like the warning signs weren’t there to begin with.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pixabay