Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | New York | New York County | Regulation | Statewide NY
NY Grid Operator Predicts Blackouts in NYC Coming in Next 5 Years
Two separate reports released last week from the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the entity in charge of the state’s electric grid, warn of coming blackouts in New York City without “several thousand megawatts of new dispatchable generation within the next ten years” added to the grid. Starting next summer, NYISO anticipates its reliability margins in NYC will be “dangerously thin,” making the grid more vulnerable to failures. This is not the first time NYISO has warned the state it’s on a razor’s edge and heading for blackouts. Yet NY’s Democrat politicians ignore the warnings and insist on pushing unreliable renewables. Read More “NY Grid Operator Predicts Blackouts in NYC Coming in Next 5 Years”
This story is funny. At least, we find it amusing. An extremely radical organization (essentially a Communist organization) calling itself New York Communities for Change (NYCC), launched a petition for signers to say that if New York Governor Kathy Hochul approves the plan to build the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project, they pledge to vote against her in the upcoming primary in 2026. The petition “quickly garnered supporters” with over 1,000 signatures. There are 5.9 million registered Democrats in the state, so 0.00017 of the Dems (assuming only registered Dems signed), or seventeen hundred-thousandths of the Dem primary voting population, will vote against her. Which is ZERO percent. But that’s not even the funniest part of this story. The funniest part is that she’s already approved it! 
George Soros-backed Big Green groups are not happy with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and her concession to Donald Trump to allow new pipeline projects to proceed in the state (see 
Their policies and laws of the left end up costing the average person big money and result in the opposite of what those policies and laws were intended to produce. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo (both far-left Democrats), have shoved the Big Green agenda down the throats of New Yorkers for years. Their laws and policies have sought to eliminate the use of natural gas and force the use of electricity as the preferred energy source instead. Here’s a concrete example of how those policies have produced the exact opposite of what they profess to seek. The New York Post has an article about a New York City landlord forced to give up clean, efficient natural gas to heat his apartment building and switch to burning far-dirtier fuel oil instead. Why? Because Hochul’s policies (and Consolidated Edison’s complicity with those policies) have forced the price of using natural gas to skyrocket. 
A judge has dismissed New York City’s lawsuit seeking to hold Exxon Mobil, BP, and Shell liable for misleading the public about their products and claims that their commitment to renewable energy and fighting climate change are false. The case was so weak not even a Democrat judge appointed by Kathy Hochul could stomach it. In her ruling, Justice Anar Rathod Patel told the city it could not have it both ways. The city claimed its residents knew about mythical climate change and how it is caused by burning nasty fossil fuels. Yet the city’s lawsuit claims Big Oil has tricked people into using fossil energy with false and misleading advertising. Patel wrote, “The city cannot have it both ways.” Touché! 
Here we go again. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander has put forth a proposal that would stop the city’s three pension funds from future private equity and infrastructure portfolio investments in midstream and downstream fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals. The prohibition would apply to New York City’s Employees’ Retirement System, Teachers’ Retirement System, and Board of Education Retirement System should their pension boards approve the decision. But here’s the thing… In May 2023, workers from those same three pension funds sued the funds to stop them from divesting from fossil energy companies (see 
What is happening in American politics is shocking. Unfortunately, we are so shocked almost daily that we’re (as a society) becoming numb to it. Never in the history of our country have the members of one political party sought to jail their political opponents. It’s happening now, and the party/movement in question comes from the left. Democrat elected officials in New York City and progressive advocacy groups are pushing New York City’s prosecutors to charge fossil fuel companies AND their executives with crimes for “reckless endangerment” for their supposed role in causing “climate change.” Never mind that the left can’t prove mankind is catastrophically causing global warming (which is what they mean by climate change). They seek to jail people who disagree with them. It’s astonishing. 
Three New York City pension funds — the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System, and the Board of Education Retirement System — were sued in May by four NYC employees for breaching their fiduciary duty and divesting from fossil energy companies (see 
The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), the nonprofit that oversees the state’s electricity system, has warned New York State for YEARS of coming blackouts if peaker plants in New York City are forced to close in 2025 (see 
Another great American university has fallen to the forces of radical left Communism–New York University (NYU). Rich kids with no purpose in life other than to navel gaze and worry about the latest Taylor Swift video have found a new purpose: try to get the old farts in the board rooms at their school to divest from fossil fuel stocks. Not because it actually makes sense or would improve anything–but just to see if they can do it. Fortunately, 99% of colleges and universities have decided against divestment. Back in 2016, NYU and Cambridge University told the brainwashed kids to buzz off (see 
Three New York City pension funds–the New York City Employees’ Retirement System, the Teachers’ Retirement System, and the Board of Education Retirement System–were sued this week by municipal employees for breaching their fiduciary duty and divesting from fossil energy companies. The plaintiffs allege the divestments have resulted in the loss of billions of dollars that otherwise would have gone to retirees. The pension funds went woke and decided they could no longer support companies that (in their wrong opinion) are creating catastrophic, man-made global warming.
We are extremely unimpressed with New York City’s main utility company, Consolidated Edison. Con Ed supplies customers in all of New York City and Westchester County with electricity, and major portions (but not all) of NYC and Westchester with natural gas. The company has thrown in its lot (colluded with) New York’s far-left Democrats on a plan to kill off natural gas for its customers, believing it can eliminate some of its competitors. Con Ed is more than happy to build new projects, like a six-mile electric transmission line through Queens, and then pass the $275 million price to its customers to pay back. The new transmission line is meant to deliver enough extra electricity that Con Ed can shut down the gas-fired peaker plants it uses to help supply electricity on heavy usage days.