LIPA grid still vulnerable to climate change impacts, PSEG study says
In an effort to prevent the kind of damage that resulted from Superstorm Sandy, 6-foot sandbags line the perimeter of LIPA's Arverne substation in Far Rockaway. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
The Long Island electric grid, though bolstered by a decade of federally funded storm-hardening upgrades, remains vulnerable to climate-change impacts that will require new levels of customer-funded investments, a PSEG study found.
The ongoing analysis was presented to LIPA’s board of trustees earlier this month, at a meeting in which energy activists raised strong concerns about the utility continuing under its existing business model and PSEG reported some improvements in call-center performance.
The preliminary climate-change vulnerability study, which is expected to result in a series of recommendations by the fall, found that some LIPA assets could be at risk because of sea-level rise and increases in maximum sustained winds and tropical cyclones would impact overhead power lines.
“We’re also expecting increases in heat waves,” said PSEG climate and resilience manager Joanna Weisman. “Sea-level rise, no surprise there. We’re seeing as the century progresses that our seas will be rising and some of our low-lying assets may be at risk.” Flooding is “particularly a concern for low-lying areas,” she added.
PSEG will come up with vulnerability scores for LIPA-owned infrastructure throughout the grid and develop mitigation plans to address vulnerabilities, Weisman said.
There will be costs to implement the program, though LIPA senior vice president Billy Raley said government grants and a past decade of storm hardening could make those cost impacts lower than for some other investor-owned utilities.
At the meeting, LIPA trustees unanimously accepted a state audit of LIPA and PSEG’s operations that found a long list of deficiencies and systemic problems, including missed green-energy goals, a delayed computer migration to Long Island from New Jersey, call-center deficiencies and strategic planning missteps.
At the board meeting, about a dozen speakers, most of them backers of the state’s aggressive green-energy goals, urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to address the problems by supporting an Assembly bill that would make LIPA a fully public utility, while dropping PSEG Long Island as the grid operator. PSEG says the current model is best for ratepayers.
“Governor Hochul, numerous studies have made it clear that the current system is fatally flawed and no tweaks or new contracts will be adequate” to fix it, said Eric Weltman, senior organizer of Food & Water Watch, an activist group. “Don’t give in to PSEG’s intense lobbying efforts.”
The bill that would facilitate a fully public LIPA, sponsored by Assemb. Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor), is stalled in the Assembly, with no Senate companion bill as yet. Hochul has said she’d review it if it arrives on her desk.
Ryan Madden of the Long Island Progressive Coalition noted the utility is “falling behind on our climate goals and is ill-prepared for the next storm. This model is jeopardizing Gov. Hochul’s climate plan and putting her constituents at risk.”
With the Assembly bill stalled, John Rhodes, LIPA's interim chief executive, is eyeing the task of putting the contract to manage the grid out to bid in coming months, a big job that requires marketing to potential bidders and detailed analysis of bids. PSEG’s contract expires at the end of 2025.
Rhodes said his key priorities were clear: “We do have to deal with the issue of what we do next with respect to the management contract. It’s an essential and here-and-now part of the job.”
Rhodes also said, “We have to be as ready as we can be” for what is expected to be a busier hurricane and storm season this year. “Obviously we’re going to cross our fingers but we’re going to be as prepared as we can be for every eventuality,” he said.
The federal government predicts 23 named storms this season, including up to 11 hurricanes, five of them major.
PSEG officials reported improved results in its problem-plagued customer call centers, including better answer times, but noted that it was chiefly the result of adding more than 30 new staffers during the month. Call volume could increase in coming months as the utility rolls out new time-of-use rates and a one-year guarantee to return the difference if customers bills go up as a result.
Lou Debrino, vice president of customer operations, said 17,192 customers have opted for the new rate, 1,224 have opted out, and some 61,000 are expected to be switched over by the end of June. Call durations for customers inquiring about the new rate are averaging 14 minutes, he said, and 91,000 customers are expected to be on the rate by year's end.
The Long Island electric grid, though bolstered by a decade of federally funded storm-hardening upgrades, remains vulnerable to climate-change impacts that will require new levels of customer-funded investments, a PSEG study found.
The ongoing analysis was presented to LIPA’s board of trustees earlier this month, at a meeting in which energy activists raised strong concerns about the utility continuing under its existing business model and PSEG reported some improvements in call-center performance.
The preliminary climate-change vulnerability study, which is expected to result in a series of recommendations by the fall, found that some LIPA assets could be at risk because of sea-level rise and increases in maximum sustained winds and tropical cyclones would impact overhead power lines.
“We’re also expecting increases in heat waves,” said PSEG climate and resilience manager Joanna Weisman. “Sea-level rise, no surprise there. We’re seeing as the century progresses that our seas will be rising and some of our low-lying assets may be at risk.” Flooding is “particularly a concern for low-lying areas,” she added.
WHAT TO KNOW
- A PSEG study found that the Long Island electric grid remains vulnerable to climate-change impacts.
- Though bolstered by a decade of federally funded storm-hardening upgrade, the system will require new levels of customer-funded investments, the study said.
- It found that some LIPA assets could be at risk because of sea-level rise and increases in maximum sustained winds and tropical cyclones.
PSEG will come up with vulnerability scores for LIPA-owned infrastructure throughout the grid and develop mitigation plans to address vulnerabilities, Weisman said.
There will be costs to implement the program, though LIPA senior vice president Billy Raley said government grants and a past decade of storm hardening could make those cost impacts lower than for some other investor-owned utilities.
At the meeting, LIPA trustees unanimously accepted a state audit of LIPA and PSEG’s operations that found a long list of deficiencies and systemic problems, including missed green-energy goals, a delayed computer migration to Long Island from New Jersey, call-center deficiencies and strategic planning missteps.
At the board meeting, about a dozen speakers, most of them backers of the state’s aggressive green-energy goals, urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to address the problems by supporting an Assembly bill that would make LIPA a fully public utility, while dropping PSEG Long Island as the grid operator. PSEG says the current model is best for ratepayers.
“Governor Hochul, numerous studies have made it clear that the current system is fatally flawed and no tweaks or new contracts will be adequate” to fix it, said Eric Weltman, senior organizer of Food & Water Watch, an activist group. “Don’t give in to PSEG’s intense lobbying efforts.”
The bill that would facilitate a fully public LIPA, sponsored by Assemb. Fred Thiele (D-Sag Harbor), is stalled in the Assembly, with no Senate companion bill as yet. Hochul has said she’d review it if it arrives on her desk.
Ryan Madden of the Long Island Progressive Coalition noted the utility is “falling behind on our climate goals and is ill-prepared for the next storm. This model is jeopardizing Gov. Hochul’s climate plan and putting her constituents at risk.”
With the Assembly bill stalled, John Rhodes, LIPA's interim chief executive, is eyeing the task of putting the contract to manage the grid out to bid in coming months, a big job that requires marketing to potential bidders and detailed analysis of bids. PSEG’s contract expires at the end of 2025.
Rhodes said his key priorities were clear: “We do have to deal with the issue of what we do next with respect to the management contract. It’s an essential and here-and-now part of the job.”
Rhodes also said, “We have to be as ready as we can be” for what is expected to be a busier hurricane and storm season this year. “Obviously we’re going to cross our fingers but we’re going to be as prepared as we can be for every eventuality,” he said.
The federal government predicts 23 named storms this season, including up to 11 hurricanes, five of them major.
PSEG officials reported improved results in its problem-plagued customer call centers, including better answer times, but noted that it was chiefly the result of adding more than 30 new staffers during the month. Call volume could increase in coming months as the utility rolls out new time-of-use rates and a one-year guarantee to return the difference if customers bills go up as a result.
Lou Debrino, vice president of customer operations, said 17,192 customers have opted for the new rate, 1,224 have opted out, and some 61,000 are expected to be switched over by the end of June. Call durations for customers inquiring about the new rate are averaging 14 minutes, he said, and 91,000 customers are expected to be on the rate by year's end.
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
