Diving certificate:
- The New York Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a low-income energy affordability pilot program and began a process to identify and develop future grid infrastructure needs. Both programs aim to support the state’s efforts to electrify homes and transportation.
- A new grid planning framework will ensure that utilities coordinate their grids across different geographic areas and service territories to meet increasing demand for electricity, the PSC said. The commission directed the major utilities to propose a long-term coordinated planning process to study and identify necessary improvements.
- And New York’s Energy Affordability Guarantee will provide about 1,000 low-income customers with “tailored bill assistance” so they don’t have to spend more than six percent of their annual household income on electricity if they fully electrify their spaces and water heating through the EmPower+ program, according to a statement from Governor Kathleen Hochul’s office.
Diving insight:
New York’s electricity demand could nearly double over the next two decades, driven by the electrification of heating and transportation and the development of energy-intensive industries, the state’s grid operator said. Regulators took steps last week to ensure the necessary grid expansion is efficient and the move away from fossil fuels is not unaffordable for low-income families.
“Affordability is a top priority and we are making much-needed investments to help low-income New Yorkers affordably add electricity to their homes,” Hochul said. Funding for the multi-year affordability pilot will come from a $50 million appropriation in New York’s fiscal year 2025.
Eligible customers must have an annual household income of 60% or less of the state median income, and customers must also be covered by the EmPower+ program, which provides free and subsidized energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades to low- and moderate-income households.
In May, New York became the first state to offer energy cost subsidies using Inflation Reduction Act funds. An expansion of the Empower+ program provided nearly $40 million to low-income households for insulation and air sealing, heat pumps for space and water heating, and the electrical upgrades needed for these retrofits.
The Energy Affordability Program is administered by electric and gas utilities and provides bill payment assistance to eligible customers through monthly tiered rebates. The pilot program will help the PSC address “key information gaps related to low-income household electrification,” according to the governor’s announcement, including the additional electricity use and costs associated with operating heat pumps for different customer and housing profiles.
“The Energy Affordability Guarantee will enable low-income families to pay their monthly electricity bills while reducing their dependence on fossil fuels by fully electrifying their homes,” said Barbara Guinn, commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, in a statement.
A new network planning process
Developing a new grid planning process is necessary to support the state’s transition away from fossil fuels, said PSC Chairman Rory Christian.
“The commission is creating a statewide, collaborative planning framework to ensure utilities are prepared to support New Yorkers who are increasingly choosing electric vehicles and heating for their homes, businesses and transportation needs,” Christian said in a statement. “The goal of this effort is to identify timely improvements to the electric grid to support electrification across a range of economic sectors.”
The PSC directed the major utilities to submit a proposal for a “long-term, coordinated planning process to study and identify necessary improvements to support electrification.” The process must consider new electrification loads, including the transportation sector and buildings such as homes, or industrial loads related to economic development.
“The rate at which consumers electrify buildings and vehicles could outpace existing grid planning processes,” the PSC said. “The new planning framework will also ensure that utilities use shared, best-in-class information and techniques to ensure each utility coordinates across geographic areas and service territories.”
The PSC said it would require utilities to include at least two options in their proposals regarding the development of load forecasts: an option based on data from other processes, including work from the newly implemented Coordinated Grid Planning Process, and the utilities’ own bottom-up forecast of detailed electricity demand.
The PSC noted that the development of a new integrated planning process, along with the studies and regulatory approvals, will “take a significant amount of time” and that there may be “upgrades that need to be planned or fully constructed prior to the implementation of the integrated planning process due to anticipated load growth or construction time.”
Because of the time involved, the PSC says utilities must submit applications within three months outlining the “urgent upgrades” needed in their areas, and another application, due in four months, must propose the new long-term planning processes.
