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PSC Order on NY Utility DR Program Changes for Summer 2020 – Market Minute (Video)

June 02, 2020



 

On May 14th, in response to COVID-19 related challenges and recommendations raised by stakeholders,  the New York Public Service Commission issued an Order directing most of the utilities to implement several changes to their Dynamic Load Management (DLM) tariffs to become effective as of June 1st. These changes will impact the Commercial System Relief Program (CSRP) and the Distribution Load Relief Program (DLRP) for Summer 2020 and are intended to increase program flexibility for DR aggregators and participants.

The PSC Order directs the utilities to make the following changes to their DLM tariffs:

First, there will be an additional enrollment window to allow new participants to participate in the programs in July through September if enrollments are submitted by June 1st.

Second, for customers currently enrolled will have an opportunity to adjust their committed kW reduction amounts for July through September if this is submitted by June 1st.

Third, testing will occur only if an event has not already occurred, and the PSC has directed utilities to not administer a test before July 1st.

Lastly, for customers that have utility interval or AMI metering installed but have not been able to establish communications between the meter and the utility will be provisionally approved to participate, pending establishment of the necessary communications and providing that meter data for the CBL baseline calculations and test/event performance can be retrieved to assess program performance for settlement and payment.

These changes will be applicable to all utilities within New York, except for PSEG-LI. The PSC Order directs Department of Public Service staff to work with LIPA/PSEG-LI staff to see if similar changes can be implemented for their CSRP and DLRP programs for this program season.

If your organization is currently participating in one or both of the CSRP and DLRP programs in 2020, or had opted not to enroll in these programs due to operational and electric load changes for the season, you now have one more opportunity to enroll to participate in July through September, or to adjust your level of participation through adjusting your enrollment value.

If you have any questions or would like to enroll, or adjust your current enrollment amount, in the CSRP or DLRP programs by June 1st, or have any other New York energy question, contact CPower and we’ll help you in any way we can.

On May 14th, in response to COVID-19 related challenges and recommendations raised by stakeholders,  the New York Public Service Commission issued an Order directing most of the utilities to implement several changes to their Dynamic Load Management (DLM) tariffs to become effective as of June 1st. These changes will impact the Commercial System Relief Program (CSRP) and the Distribution Load Relief Program (DLRP) for Summer 2020 and are intended to increase program flexibility for DR aggregators and participants.

The PSC Order directs the utilities to make the following changes to their DLM tariffs:

  1. Enrollment – an additional enrollment window has been added. New enrollments must be submitted by June 1st for participation in the CSRP/DLRP for July through September.
  2. Enrollment Adjustment – participants may adjust their committed kW to the CSRP and DLRP programs by submitting updated enrollments by June 1st, to become effective July 1st.
  3. Testing – utilities have been directed to not administer tests in their programs until July 1st at the earliest, and to not administer a test if an event has already been called.
  4. Metering – customers that have utility interval or AMI metering installed but have not been able to establish communications between the meter and the utility will be provisionally approved to participate, pending establishment of the necessary communications and providing that meter data for the CBL baseline calculations and test/event performance can be retrieved to assess program performance for settlement and payment.

These changes will be applicable to all utilities within New York, except for PSEG-LI. The PSC Order directs Department of Public Service staff to work with LIPA/PSEG-LI staff to see if similar changes can be implemented for their CSRP and DLRP programs for this program season.

If your organization is currently participating in one or both of the CSRP and DLRP programs in 2020, or had opted not to enroll in these programs due to operational and electric load changes for the season, you now have one more opportunity to enroll to participate in July through September, or to adjust your level of participation through adjusting your enrollment value.

If you have any questions or would like to enroll, or adjust your current enrollment amount, in the CSRP or DLRP programs by June 1st, or have any other New York energy question, contact CPower and we’ll help you in any way we can.

New York’s Rule 222 for Distributed Generation (Video)

April 20, 2020



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2020 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America

March 25, 2020
Last year, nearly 2000 organizations nationwide downloaded the State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America book by CPower’s energy experts.
This year, we pick up where we left off with a market-by-market analysis of the issues, trends, and regulations organizations like yours should understand in 2020 to make better decisions about your energy use and spend.

Rule 222: NYS DEC cracks down on NOx emissions from commercial generators

March 24, 2020

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has approved a new regulation called 6 NYCRR Part 222 Distribution Generation Sources. The proposed rule would replace the March 1, 2017 adopted Part 222, which was challenged in the Supreme Court in the County of Albany and stayed. 

Controlling nitrogen oxide emissions from distributed generation sources is Rule 222’s essential goal. The proposed rule will apply only in the New York City metropolitan area as defined at 6 NYCRR Part 200.1(au), which covers New York City, Westchester, Rockland, and Nassau counties.

DG sources enrolled in demand response programs sponsored by the NYISO or electric utilities as well as sources used during times when the cost of electricity supplied by utilities is high (defined separately in Part 222 as price-responsive “economic” generation sources) are subject to the new rule. 

Rule 222 was approved on March 11, 2020, and will be implemented effective May 1, 2021. Both new and existing distributed generation sources that intend to participate in DR will need to notify the NYSDEC by March 15, 2021 or 30 days prior to beginning participation, whichever is later.  That said, organizations in the New York City metro area that use a stationary generator for demand response should contact CPower since the rule could ultimately affect their ability to earn revenue by helping the grid reduce load in times of stress or high economic prices. 

Any organization curious to learn more about Rule 222 and whether or not their generator is affected should contact a licensed curtailment service provider.


This post was excerpted from the 2020 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America, a market-by-market analysis of the issues and trends the experts at CPower feel organizations like yours need to know to make better decisions about your energy use and spend.

CPower has taken the pain out of painstaking detail, leaving a comprehensive but easy-to-understand bed of insights and ideas to help you make sense of demand-side energy’s quickly-evolving landscape.

Download Your Copy 

Seasonal Readiness 2020

February 18, 2020
Are you ready for the 2020 demand response season? Our program information and On Demand Webinar resources will help make you successful in your programs in 2020. Here, you'll find program information, key dates (like communication drills), your CPower contacts, market information, dispatch information and more.

SOTM 2019 Webinar Series

August 08, 2019
60 minutes with CPower Experts. Energy Insights to Plan Your Year. At CPower, we know that running your organization’s…

The Push for Renewables in New York

April 10, 2019

One of the Reforming Energy Vision’s primary goals includes renewable sources generating 70% of the state’s electricity by 2030. To do that, the New York grid seeks to implement distributed energy resources into its fuel mix.

How might New York’s energy market be redesigned to incorporate DERs like solar, energy storage, and others?

NYISO’s proposed changes meet opposition

In 2018, the NYISO proposed changes to the ICAP Capacity Market for how long a resource must be able to run to be eligible to be paid the full value of capacity.

Using the results of a study on energy-limited resources by GE Consulting (GE), the NYISO initially proposed that resources would need to be able to run for 8-hours in order to obtain full capacity value. The NYSIO then proposed it would allow resources that can perform for shorter durations to be paid a fractional portion of the capacity value as follows:

8-hrs=100%

6-hrs = 75%

4-hrs = 50%,

2-hrs =25%

A group of demand response and energy storage providers, including CPower, challenged the GE study’s findings.

A formal review of the GE study by Astrapé Consulting revealed “several flaws in the assumptions and methodology that influenced the study results to show a decreased capacity value for shorter-duration resources than would likely be expected.”

Skepticism of the GE study’s results quickly spread among key New York energy stakeholders, including DR providers, energy storage developers, C&I customers, environmental groups and various trade associations.

These stakeholders submitted a joint letter to the NYISO executive team and board of directors requesting “all market design changes relating to the GE Study results (including any changes to the SCR program) be removed from the DER Roadmap.”

So where does that leave New York?

Potential changes in the New York Energy Market

While there is an ongoing debate about the future of New York’s capacity market, there are no major regulations or market design changes yet announced to take effect in 2019. That could change pending the outcome of an April vote (more than a month away as of this writing) among New York’s energy stakeholders.  

That means, for example, the Special Case Resource (SCR) demand response program will continue to operate under its current parameters, including a four-hour duration requirement.

As far as the DER wholesale market goes, New York is in wait-and-see mode. DERs, especially battery storage, and renewable energy sources are a key component of the REV’s drive toward New York’s energy future.

New York, like several other US energy markets, is faced with the question of how to value distributed energy resources in its marketplace.

The question of DER valuation is being debated by the NYISO and various energy stakeholders in the state. As of this writing, there is no definitive timetable for when the debate will conclude and regulations for DER valuation will be enacted.

Energy Storage

New York has taken its place alongside California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts as a first-mover in establishing energy storage targets.

In June 2018, Governor Cuomo announced an energy storage roadmap that set New York’s storage target for 1,500 MW by 2025. According to the roadmap, that ambitious goal could elevate to 3,000 MW by 2030.  

At the state level, New York has recognized the need to fund storage projects instead of subsidizing them. Last June, Governor Cuomo committed $200 million from the New York Green Bank to fund storage investments that will help integrate renewable energy onto New York’s grid.

Funding opportunities for storage abound with plenty of state money being made available for storage development.

But without certainty on the wholesale market side and established rules concerning dual participation between markets, meeting the state’s ambitious storage goals will continue to have its challenges.

The key energy players in New York will need to resolve these issues before any substantial investment from the private sector will take a position on energy storage. The NYISO is targeting April 17, 2019, for a vote on market design to accommodate DER integration into its wholesale markets.


This post was excerpted from the 2019 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America, a market-by-market analysis of the issues and trends the experts at CPower feel organizations like yours need to know to make better decisions about your energy use and spend.

CPower has taken the pain out of painstaking detail, leaving a comprehensive but easy-to-understand bed of insights and ideas to help you make sense of demand-side energy’s quickly-evolving landscape.

Get Your Copy

New York City: high capacity prices, many demand-side energy management options

When it comes to capacity prices in New York state, the story changes depending on the geographic region.

Capacity prices are historically low right now in upstate New York but increase through the Lower Hudson Valley toward New York City, due to transmission constraints.

The announced retirement of Indian Point nuclear facility scheduled for 2020 and 2021 leaves New York with 2,000 MW to be replaced just outside of New York City.

NYISO points to new natural gas generation and other renewable generation scheduled to come online as reasons for Indian Point’s retirement. Still, capacity prices in New York City heading into Summer 2019 are comparatively high compared with the rest of the state.

Where there are high capacity prices, there are opportunities to earn revenue for wisely using energy.

Many of these opportunities exist at both the utility and NYISO level.

Con Ed’s Demand Management Program (DMP)

Con Ed provides financial incentives for organizations that help the grid lower its peak demand on New York’s hottest days.

The DMP is a rebate-based program that rewards Con Edison and New York Power Authority (NYPA) customers in New York City and Westchester for installing energy-saving technologies, thereby permanently reducing their overall demand.

Eligible projects include:

Demand Response in New York

In 2016, several New York Utilities began offering two new demand response programs in conjunction with the REV:

  1. Commercial System Relief Program (CSRP)
  2. Distribution Load Relief Program (DLRP)

ConEd has been offering CSRP and DLRP since 2009/2010. The programs will continue to run in 2019.

NYISO’s Special Case Resource (SCR) program, the longest running demand response program in NY, will also run in 2019 along with NYISO’s economic programs: the Day-Ahead Demand Response Program (DADRP) and the Demand-Side Ancillary Services Program (DSASP)

Currently, there are 17 demand response programs being offered to commercial and Industrial organizations in New York. That number may change in 2019/20 as several New York Utilities consider removing DLRP or CSRP.

Natural Gas Demand Response

Con Ed is poised to continue leading New York utilities’ push for demand response.

Building on its 20-year experience administering DR programs, the utility is exploring ways to use natural gas demand response as a “non-pipe solution” to alleviate potential grid stress brought on by growing natural gas demand and pipeline constraints into New York City.

Con Ed’s natural gas DR program is currently in pilot phase. If successful, expect other New York utilities adopt it into similar programs of their own where gas pipeline constraints exist.

Non-Wires Solutions

Non-wires solutions (NWS) are investments in the electric utility system that can defer or replace altogether the need for specific transmission and/or distribution projects.

NWS help to provide a cost-effective reduction of transmission congestion or distribution system constraints at times of peak demand.

New York is looking to implement several non-wires solutions, including fast-acting demand response with dispatch notices as short as five minutes and curtailment durations that last as long as 12 hours.

Organizations wishing to participate in such programs will likely need to accommodate the short dispatch notice with technology that facilitates automated DR.


This post was excerpted from the 2019 State of Demand-Side Energy Management in North America, a market-by-market analysis of the issues and trends the experts at CPower feel organizations like yours need to know to make better decisions about your energy use and spend.

CPower has taken the pain out of painstaking detail, leaving a comprehensive but easy-to-understand bed of insights and ideas to help you make sense of demand-side energy’s quickly-evolving landscape.

Get Your Copy

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