By Alex Ginsberg
In the aftermath of the largest blackout in American history, industry experts and public officials say that changes to the nation’s power system need not include the construction of additional power plants — news that should come as a relief to the residents of western Queens.
“This blackout had nothing to do with supply,” said Ashok Gupta, director of the Air and Energy Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council in Manhattan. “We could have had 5,000 more megawatts and we still would have had a blackout.”
Gupta, like others, blamed the blackout on the power transmission system shared by the United States and Canada and called for a comprehensive overhaul of that grid. One such transmission vehicle, the cable connecting Long Island and Connecticut under Long Island Sound, is currently the subject of heated wrangling between the two states.
“It’s not even a case of we should rush out and build more transmission lines,” Gupta said. “What we need to do is upgrade the transmission system so it can manage the load.”
That should be good news for residents of Long Island City and Astoria, two neighborhoods in western Queens that together contain four generating facilities that supply a significant portion of the city’s power. A study released in June rated Queens among the worst 10 percent of American counties in air quality.
But some are still wary that the blackout could be used to justify new construction.
“It is very easy to tell people there was a blackout, therefore we need power production,” said state Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria).
The New York Post, in an Aug. 19 editorial, called for the immediate overhaul of the state’s Article X siting process so that new plants could be set up faster.
“It’s time for Gov. Pataki to do whatever he must to prevent another such disaster,” the editorial read, even while admitting that lack of production had nothing to do with the crippling outage.
Those that stand to gain the most — the New York Power Authority, NRG and KeySpan together maintain four power facilities in western Queens — have made no public statements in favor of additional construction.
Luis Rodriguez, a NYPA spokesman, said it was not up to the company to determine if more power was needed as a result of the blackout. That determination, he said, would be made by the New York Independent System Operator.
And Howard Kosel, a vice president with KeySpan, scoffed at the idea that his company would seek to exploit the blackout. He said that in the power generation market, deregulated since 1999, investments were determined solely by supply and demand.
“We are not looking at this as ‘Wow, let’s jump on the bandwagon and build a bunch of generation facilities and make a ton of money,’” he said.
Nevertheless, Tony Gigantiello, president and founder of CHOKE, Coalition Helping to Organize a Kleaner Environment, said he fully expected power companies to use the blackout to promote new plants.
“That’s why we have to educate these people and tell them what the real problems are,” he said. “It’s not the power plants, it’s the transmission lines.”
One such line, the cable running underneath Long Island Sound, continues to be a source of controversy. New York wants it activated, as it was under emergency conditions during the blackout, an action state officials say could help improve power distribution. But Connecticut has cited safety concerns and fears skyrocketing power prices if New York becomes a rival buyer for the power the cable delivers.
Yet even with the focus on transmission vehicles like the cross-sound cable, western Queens is still not immune from additional building.
Joe Petta, a Con Edison spokesman, said New York City would require additional power generation within the next five years and regulations stipulated that 80 percent of that power be generated in the city. Western Queens, with its close proximity to gas mains, transmission lines and water (often used as a coolant), continued to be tempting site, he said.
And while he conceded that additional power would not have prevented the blackout, he added that it was still an “open question” whether or not increased supply could have turned the lights on faster in the aftermath.
“We had to wait in many cases for power to become available,” he said. “And that power, as it came in, determined where the lights would be restored first.”
More may be learned about what, if anything, the power supply had to do with the blackout or its aftermath when the state Assembly begins investigative hearings Thursday in Manhattan.
But regardless of those findings, Gianaris said residents should not expect additional power plants in western Queens or other overloaded areas.
“Assuming that reason prevails,” he added quickly.
Reach reporter Alex Ginsberg by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
