Holtsville power plant out of commission, but PSEG says no worry for summer
The Flynn plant in Holtsville recently experienced a fault, and has been out of commission since April 9. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
As Long Island heads into the peak power season, it will have to make do without at least one power plant that had previously operated under contract to LIPA, though officials said there's plenty of excess power to make up the difference.
The Richard M. Flynn plant in Holtsville, a 133-megawatt power plant, recently experienced a fault, and has been out of commission since April 9, said Paul DeMichele, a spokesman for the New York Power Authority, which owns and operates the facility.
LIPA had a $1 billion contract for all the energy generated from the plant, but the contract expired in 2014. Since then LIPA had purchased energy from the plant on an as-needed basis until its problems last month.
DeMichele said the problem stems from a fault in the combustion turbine generator, a "critical component of the plant’s operation." The plant, when operating, produces electricity using either natural gas or fuel oil.
He said NYPA is working with LIPA and the New York Independent System Operator, which manages state energy markets, "to meet the short- and long-term needs of Long Island." Officials did not say when the plant would be back in service.
PSEG Long Island officials, at a committee hearing of the LIPA board on Wednesday, said even with the Flynn plant down, and the Neptune undersea cable operating at half its 660-megawatt capacity, Long Island has plenty of energy for this summer season. Summers are higher-use times for power plants and electric cables because of the longer, hotter days, and the attendant high use of air conditioners.
The extreme weather forecast for 2021 could see more than 5,917 megawatts of power needed by mid-July, depending on weather conditions, with a low range of around 5,334 megawatts, PSEG officials said. They added that they foresee an excess capacity margin of 412 megawatts, given the 6,588 megawatts available, including at other local plants and cables.
If NYPA’s Y-49 cable, which runs from East Garden City to Westchester, has problems, as it has during three periods in the past year, PSEG said it could call on smaller peak-power plants at Glenwood Landing and West Babylon to make up the difference, "as well as emergency imports from neighboring utilities."
Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.
