2,905,611 VISITORS VISIT 8,324,077 TIMES 3 TIMES EVERY DAY IN ONE YEAR. HIGHEST ACTIVITY IN WPCNR HISTORY.White PlainsCitizeNetReporter lifted its worldwide visits from unique visitors to wpcnr.com to 8,324,077,a 1,306,419 increase in visits in one year from 7,017,658 visits to the site last year which covers White Plains and Westchester County. The 8,324,077 visits were made by 2,005,611 unique visitors who visited wpcnr an average of 3 visits a day. ON JULY 20- -2026 visitors have accessed wpcnr and made 3,072 visits an average of 1.6 visits. In the last week 33,495 individual vistors made 54,458 visits, averaging 1.6 visits. In the last month, 152,940 visitors recorded 229,338 visits (1.5 visits)
WPCNR THE POWER STORY.From Consolidated Edison. February 7, 2019:
The New York State Public Service Commission today authorized Consolidated Edison to immediately begin implementation of a $223 million initiative aimed at reducing demand for natural gas in the utility’s supply-constrained areas of its gas distribution system.
They are cost-effective and can offer substantial relief to current constraints that led Con Edison to recently announce a temporary gas moratorium in Westchester County.
Building upon these measures, the Commission will be laser focused on finding holistic and long-lasting solutions that will support clean energy strategies and economic growth.
“The PSC is providing Con Edison with the ability to deploy non-traditional solutions to address the customer needs currently met with natural gas and expects Con Edison to use these tools to help its customers and protect environment,” said Commission Chair John B. Rhodes. “Con Edison needs to move quickly and put forward innovative solutions designed to meet current and future energy demands throughout its serve territory.”
Con Edison submitted its Smart Solutions proposal to further develop a portfolio to lower demand for natural gas and identify local supply enhancements.
The solutions approved today focus on reducing demand through energy efficiency measures for its gas customers and supporting beneficial electrification through the deployment of heat pump technology.
The planned programs include the installation of:
(1) ground-source heat pumps at 8,800 single-family residences in Westchester County;
(2) air-source heat pumps at over 1,000 small and mid-sized multi-family buildings that currently use fuel oil for heating in the Bronx and other areas of the Company’s natural gas service territory; and,
(3) heat pumps to pre-heat boiler return water at more than 1,000 small commercial and large residential facilities throughout the Company’s natural gas service territory.
These measures will reduce future gas demand that would have resulted from the practice of converting fuel oil customers to natural gas.
Con Edison’s portfolio of demand-side approaches includes initiatives targeted at low-to moderate-income customers, multifamily properties and government buildings that provide critical community services.
The Commission denied the company’s proposal to incentivize shareholders to add supply enhancements such as compressed or liquified natural gas supply sources, but specifically noted that the company is not prohibited from pursuing such projects without shareholder incentives as it has done in the recent past.
Moratorium a safety precaution to avert massive shutdowns of metropolitan areas if Natural Gas demand exceeds available supply.
Rhode Island shutdowns show peril of gas shortage.
WPCNR THE POWER STORY. By John F. Bailey. February 7, 2019:
A Consolidated Edison spokesperson told WPCNR Wednesday the moratorium on natural gas fueled new approvals and installations after March of 2021 was firm.
An extension of the Con Ed “moratorium” on new natural gas connections after March 15, puts the area at risk of natural gas shutdowns if demand for natural gas exceeded supply in high demand periods.,spokesman Bob McGee said.
He cited the shutdown of natural gas to 10,000 gas customers in the Newport area two weeks ago as what happens when gas supply is exceeded by demand.
Hopes expressed earlier this week by Westchester County officials of the county and its cities and towns leaders and local business associations, that the March 15 deadline on new applications announced by Con Edison January 29, could be moved up much farther out into the future by the Public Service Commission appear doubtful.
Con Edison took a look at what they had in already approved
projects, and the gas supply, and the demands the approved projections will put
on the system, McGee told WPCNR. Based on the anticipated demand two years out
and the demand for natural gas for heating, Con Ed decided to impose the
moratorium.
McGee said that projects approved now by Consolidated Edison the company can handle. However new projects not submitted by March 15, would not be considered (immediately). Projects already approved for a connection would be continued, but installation had to be completed by 2021.
Consolidated Edison has alerted officials of the growing
demand for natural gas. In August, 2018, Con Edison pointed out in a news
article the growth of natural gas demand since 2014-15.
“During the winter heating season in 2014-15, ConEd relied on delivered (gas) services for 5% of its gas needs, but by winter 2017-18, delivered services (for gas) reach 17%. The company expects delivered services to meet 22% of gas needs by 2023 unless the region gets access to new pipeline capacity,” the company said in the article.
A New York State Public Service Commission approved a gas
demand response pilot program that the PSC said could meet (only) 1% of the pipeline
capacity shortfall by 2023.
Earlier in October 2017, Con Ed warned again of the exponential gas demand. A Con Ed spokesman was quoted, noting “(construction of gas pipelines) is not keeping pace with growing demand.”
McGee referred to the Newport, Rhode Island gas outage two weeks ago as evidence of why the moratorium and focus on conservation is needed to avoid demand for gas beyond capacity:
Thousands of people have to be turned off from the gas supply, and then have to be returned on one pilot light at a time.
The New Haven Register reported January 24 that during the near zero temperatures of two weeks ago, Marylee Hanley, spokesperson for Enbridge the company that manages the Algonquin gas pipeline, said “Our initial analysis indicates that the primary loss of natural gas servicewere an unusually high demand for natural gas on the Algonquin pipeline due to cold temperatures that exceeded the system’s supply capability, coupled with an equipment malfunction(failed valve),which temporarily restricted available natural gas supplies,” Hanley said.
“There appears to be a number of other contributing factors that may have exacerbated the conditions leading to the loss of service. We continue to collaborate with the local gas company and assist in any way we can with gas service restoration efforts.”
Approximately 10,000 persons were affected. National Grid
crews were going door-to-door restoring service. To read the New Haven Register story on this
consequence of natural gas over demand situation. Copy the following link and Go
to
FIOS 1 interviews Con Ed Director of Media Relations
In an interview with FIOS 1- recorded Wednesday, January 30, (apparently before Con Edison briefed county officials on the moratorium), Michael Clendenin, Director of Media Relations was interviewed on the need for the moratorium. Con Edison provided this link to that interview to WPCNR:
Mr.
McGee told WPCNR that buildings and developments can avert a loss of power due
to a gas cutoff by installing a backup system which can be switched over for
power to run heating systems. Such customers are known as “Interrupted
Customers” which are automatically switched over in the event the gas supply is
“interrupted.”
McGee said ultimately that the solution to the gas supply demand is for advanced storage facilities to reserve gas coupled with conservation demands.
Asked if the Public Service Commision had completed its review of Con Ed restoration of Westchester County in the highly criticized effort to repower 100,000 customers (over 10 days), McGee said he was not aware of any timetable for that PSC report or any disciplines. He suggested WPCNR contact the PSC.
Chairman of the Board of Westchester County Legislators Benjamin Boykin and Mayor of White Plains Tom Roach joined County Executive George Latimer Monday during Latimer’s news conference shedding light on how the county was responding to Con Edison’s imposition of a moratorium on more natural gas hook-ups in southern Westchester County after March 15.
Mr. Boykin explains the impact such a moratorium, if not moved back, would severely affect the county growth and keep county from achieving planned objectives: Here is Mr. Boykin in this video:
White Plains Benjamin Boykin addressing the media at County Executive George Latimer’s News Conference Monday on the Con Edison threat of the moratorium on new natural gas connections in the southern part of the county Monday. Video by WPCNR
Mayor Tom Roach of White Plains noted the impact slow approval processes that could hamstring development in the county.
Mayor Thomas Roach of White Plains speaking Monday at the Latimer moratorium news conference on the impact of the natural gas moratorium, if it is not lifted or moved back. Video by WPCNR
WPCNR THE POWER STORY. From the Business Council of Westchester. February 5, 2019:
The Business Council of Westchester brought together more than 50 leading developers with projects planned for Westchester to a top-level briefing and discussion with representatives of Con Edison of the utility company’s announced March 15 moratorium on accepting new natural gas customers.
A lack of pipeline capacity necessary to supply the gas to the utility to meet increased demand is the root cause of the problem, Con Ed has explained.
The two-hour, closed-door session Monday facilitated an open, wide-ranging discussion of the natural gas supply shortage situation which poses a real threat to the future of economic development in most of Westchester including its major urban centers.
Developers representing a cross-section of smaller, mid-sized and large companies, as well as affordable housing advocates, joined in the conversation and endorsed the BCW’s implementation of a task force to begin exploration of both short and long-term ways of addressing the issue.
“While the gas shortage has been years in the making, it has now reached the point of a crisis that threatens our economy,” said BCW President and CEO Marsha Gordon. “While there are no easy solutions,” she said, “there are potential steps that can be taken to ease the immediate problem that we will be carefully evaluating with the goal of recommending a plan of action steps as quickly as possible.”
Gordon added: “The level of participation and interest, and the strong sense of unity reflects how deeply this issue will affect not only the development community but the residents of Westchester County. After decades of struggling, our downtown areas of Yonkers, New Rochelle and other urban areas are seeing unprecedented new growth and renewal. To jeopardize this is simply not an option.”
The BCW taskforce will include outreach to local, county and state leaders to work together to address the immediate and long-term situation, and in May will hold a major energy conference.
“The major takeaway from our initial meeting is that the business and development community is ready, willing and able to step forward and work with Con Edison, the state government, the Public Service Commission and any and all other involved parties to tackle the issue head-on,” Gordon said. “This was a wake-up call that can’t be ignored, and we’re confident that working together we can and will find viable solutions. We have no choice.”
