New York State utilities are making costly infrastructure upgrades to meet periods of increased peak demand for power, including at specific substations or circuits, while experiencing relatively flat overall electricity sales. This causes New York’s electric grid to have a low system efficiency (i.e., to be under-utilized during off-peak periods), and increases retail electricity prices for customers to cover the costs of the upgrades driven by peak demand.
REV Connect is facilitating innovative ideas and scalable business models (separate from open NWA procurements described below) that work in partnership with utilities to increase the flexibility of customer demand and reduce peak demand on the bulk electric system, the distribution grid, and/or local substations or circuits.
Possible utility partnership opportunities could include:
Non-wires alternative (NWA) projects are an important way for utilities to defer or avoid conventional infrastructure investments by instead procuring lower cost distributed energy resources (DER) that reduce peak demand while maintaining or improving system reliability. Utilities must identify imminent, critical system upgrade projects for NWA consideration. Responses to open NWA procurements should be made directly to the offering utility—not through REV Connect.
Utility | Propose Ideas Via | Interests |
---|---|---|
Central Hudson | REV Connect | Interested in customer-sited storage and business models in which DER is compensated based on the Value of DER, as well as new technologies that may be deployed in future NWA projects |
Con Edison | Existing programs Upcoming RFPs for NWA projects |
Actively seeking and deploying peak management solutions to address significant challenges and the high cost to meet peak demands Has numerous existing programs and initiatives, including Brooklyn Queens Demand Management (BQDM), the Demand Management Program (DMP), DR, energy efficiency, and NWA RFPs |
National Grid | REV Connect | Interested in partnerships that leverage DER to manage and reduce peak system demand across our territory and in specific locations |
NYSEG and RG&E | REV Connect | Interested in ideas for peak reduction solutions, including energy storage |
O&R | Existing programs and upcoming RFPs for NWA projects REV Connect for any other ideas |
Interested in storage and other turnkey solutions to help solve system needs, including within future NWA applications Has ongoing programs and RFPs for energy efficiency, DR, and NWA projects |
Reducing peak demand can create economic value for customers and the grid through:
The New York utilities are exploring several solutions to reduce peak demand, including NWA projects, DR, targeted energy efficiency, distributed generation, and emerging technologies for energy storage solutions. Current and upcoming NWA procurements for each New York investor-owned utility are posted on the REV Connect website.
New York utilities can propose and earn shareholder performance incentives—known as earnings adjustment mechanisms (EAMs)—for achieving peak reduction targets and improving system-wide efficiency.
For more information, see:
Some files may require a free “helper” application to view: