LI electricity use down 2%-3% amid coronavirus pandemic

Long Islanders working from home or not working at all have led to reduced local electricity use by 2% to 3% over the past several weeks compared with 2019, utility officials say.

LIPA and grid operator PSEG Long Island earlier this month said they had suspended service disconnections because of nonpayment. They also suspended late fees, a move expected to reduce 2020 revenue by $2.4 million, LIPA said. PSEG also closed customer walk-in centers, enacted measures to protect workers from virus exposure and allowed much of its workforce to work from home.

Next year's revenue decoupling charge on customer bills could be increased by $5.8 million to recover certain reconnection charges waived this year, LIPA said. 

Overall, LIPA chief executive Tom Falcone told board members at a trustee meeting Friday, the utility has seen a 5% to 7% decline in electricity use over the past few weeks compared with last year. But most of the decline is because of milder weather than last year, he said.

Still, Falcone cautioned that the effects from the coronavirus outbreak could worsen.

“The impacts of workforce restrictions are likely to grow over time,” he said. “Certainly, there will be impacts from reduced economic growth on our sales going forward.”

Electricity-use declines tied to the COVID-19 outbreak matches a statewide trend, PSEG Long Island spokeswoman Elizabeth Flagler said.

Last week, the New York Independent System Operator, which manages state electricity markets, said it saw peak electricity loads that were around 2% lower than is typical for the period. “Overall, daily usage levels across the state are trending downward, between two and three percent, over the past two weeks,” the agency said.

Electricity use each day is also taking longer to ramp up. “We have observed a later and more gradual morning ramping period, resulting in demand about 6% to 9% lower between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.,” the NYISO said.

But even while Long Island electricity use overall is down, hospitals faced with a patient onslaught are using more. And PSEG says it’s bolstering service and maintenance to accommodate the increased need.

At Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital in Oceanside, PSEG provided extra electricity service for a temporary tent for additional medical services. It involved setting a new pole, installing three transformers and stringing additional wiring, PSEG said.

Stony Brook University Hospital and NYU Winthrop Hospital have also requested additional electricity service for temporary facilities, and the utility will complete the work in two weeks, PSEG said.

LIPA trustees last week gave the utility's financial managers the flexibility to borrow directly from banks rather than bond markets “should capital markets not return to normalcy,” Falcone said. The move, which could affect around $1.2 billion in potential short-term borrowings, is only a “plan B” contingency if financial markets don’t stabilize, he said.

“We’re hoping things stabilize and we don’t have to avail ourselves of these programs,” he said.

The trustee meeting was LIPA's first in which all but one board member connected virtually, given social distancing and new workplace separation guidelines related to COVID-19. Only one trustee, Matthew Cordaro, was at the Uniondale headquarters for the meeting. He served as acting chairman. 

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.