OntheWilderSide

LIPA Releases Outline for Update to Draft Energy Master Plan
Public Input Critical to Plan’s Success
Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) President and CEO Kevin S. Law today announced the release of a Draft Outline for the updated LIPA Energy Master Plan. Law called for an
update to the existing plan last month.

A copy of the Draft Outline is attached and is also available on LIPA’s web site at: http://www.lipower.org/company/powering/energyplan08.html

Public input on the Outline will be received through various methods including written comments, input on LIPA’s web site, e-mail and statements made at public hearings (locations and dates to be announced). It is anticipated that public hearings will take place in late February and early March. Written, e-mail and web based input will be accepted throughout the process and for one week after the last public hearing. Written comments can be emailed to EnergyPlan@lipower.org or sent through regular mail to:

Kevin S. Law
Attn: LIPA Energy Master Plan
Long Island Power Authority
333 Early Ovington Blvd, Suite 403
Uniondale, NY 11553

“LIPA’s Energy Master Plan needs to reflect recent changes in the industry, ever soaring fuel prices, supply, changes in the markets and environmental regulations and policy,” said Law. “Since the completion of the initial plan, we now have better information on cost and performance of resource options. Additionally, many new sources of energy require a lead time of 5-7 years for development. The time is now to start looking at what resource options will best meet our energy needs for the future.”

Rapid growth in both local demand and energy requirements drove LIPA’s initial energy plan, which was developed through a public process in 2003 and 2004 gathering input from customers and other interested parties from across Long Island. The existing plan attempted to create a blueprint that could serve as a guide for the Authority through the
year 2013. The current Energy Plan is being updated for the period 2008 –  2017.

LIPA’s initial Energy Plan contained over 100 specific goals and targets and achieved a staggering success rate. “Over 80 percent of the initial plan’s goals have been completed, implemented, or approved and funded,” said Law. “However, over the past four years, conditions have dramatically changed with higher fuel prices, improvements in  technology and new state and federal energy policies. We must update the plan to account for these changes, and I want the plan to be developed through an open, transparent process. Input from the people who live and work in LIPA’s service territory is critical to our success in this regard.”

Release of the outline is the first of a five step public process that will be used develop the Energy Master Plan that will be followed by:

* Soliciting public input on the draft outline,
* Developing a Draft Energy Master Plan based on the outline and the public input received,
* Holding public hearings on the Draft Energy Master Plan,
* Revising the plan based on the public hearings and new information that may become available after the preparation of the Draft and issuance of a Final Energy Master Plan for consideration by the LIPA Board of Trustees.

The outline identifies 40 energy efficiency, power generation, repowering, transmission, and renewable energy technologies that will be evaluated in the plan, the various  resource scenarios that will be evaluated and the economic, production efficiency, reliability and environmental evaluation metrics that will be used to assess the plan.

“The Energy Master Plan must be comprehensive, covering all aspects of electricity planning; and it needs to be a real plan that gets implemented, not another white paper that does nothing more than sit on the shelf collecting dust,” Law said. “It must be flexible and include a robust portfolio of resource options while addressing new initiatives
such as Governor Spitzer’s call to reduce emissions 15% by the year 2015 and changes in environmental regulations and policy such as carbon footprint reductions.”

After conclusion of the public input period, a Draft LIPA Energy Master Plan will be developed with a targeted release in the summer of 2008.

Thereafter, additional public hearings will be held to receive input on the analysis performed and to hear from interested parties on recommendations to the Final LIPA Energy Master Plan. The plan will then be revised and presented to the LIPA Board of Trustees for their consideration. Release of the Final LIPA Energy Master Plan is targeted for late 2008 or early 2009.

LIPA proposes to organize the LIPA Energy Master Plan and supporting documentation as follows:

* Volume 1, Strategic Plan, will provide a description of LIPA’s Energy Master Plan for the period 2008 through 2017;
* Volume 2, Energy Primer, will provide an overview on the current state of the energy industry, background on LIPA, and a review of the initiatives LIPA is undertaking to promote customer understanding of the critical energy issues facing Long Island today;
* Volume 3, Technical Report, will provide detailed information regarding the planning process and the planning methodologies employed to create the Energy Master Plan;
* Volume 4, Response to Comments, will summarize the comments received during the Energy Master Plan related public hearings, organized according to similarity of contents; and
* Volume 5, Appendices, will provide additional and supporting details on studies, methodologies, and criteria used in the planning analysis.

Filed under: Ecology, Environment, Long Island Politics Tagged: | Environment