#newyorkpowerauthority

[nypaenergy]

Hitting the Switch: Coordinating Outage Activities at NYPA

Outages happen all the time, but not in a way that customers would ever notice. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) regularly takes electrical assets out of service, which is the only way to keep our workers safe while they carry out maintenance and upgrades that improve system reliability. And coordinating those outages is one of the most crucial activities for the routine operation and maintenance (O&M) of New York’s bulk electric system. An immense amount of planning and coordination goes into synchronizing our outage activities with operation of the statewide transmission system.

At NYPA, our four regional outage coordinators (for northern, western, central and southeastern New York) leverage expert planning, rigor and know‑how to choreograph thousands of outage requests each year. “Nothing that touches the bulk electric system can happen without coordinating our operations,” said George Slate, outage coordinator for northern New York.

Coordinators maintain a 1-3 year forecast of planned outage activities for generating facilities, transmission lines, substations and switchyards in their regions. Advanced planning is crucial to coordinate switching operations, which take equipment out of service to ensure the safety of personnel while maintaining system stability. After determining the necessary switching operations, regional coordinators submit an outage schedule for approval to the Energy Control Center (ECC), which operates NYPA’s transmission system across all regions. The ECC outage coordinator then must review each requested outage for conflicts with other scheduled and proposed requests before submitting the request to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the New York State bulk electric system. After NYISO determines that NYPA’s schedule satisfies regulations and generation commitments, the regional coordinators receive final approval to perform outage activities during the requested time frame.  

Each outage that NYPA coordinates requires procedural rigor and constant collaboration between teams at on‑site, regional and statewide levels. “The outage itself is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Slate. “With these different layers of responsibility and constant two‑way communication, we can perform essential outage activities while meeting generation commitments and maintaining a stable and reliable system.”

[nypaenergy]

Volunteers at NYPA: Lloyd Sabin

For the last 5+ years, NYPA’s Lloyd Sabin, Digital Communications Specialist II in the Corporate Communications group in White Plains, has been a soldier in the 56th Area Command of the New York Guard, New York State’s self-defense force. (Sabin, in the photo below, is front row, right). 

Based out of Camp Smith near Peekskill in northern Westchester, Sabin attends drills several times a month on a volunteer basis. During times of state emergencies, whether natural disasters like Hurricane Maria, or man-made disasters like the September 11th attacks or other incidents in and around New York State, Sabin and other soldiers and officers of the New York Guard get activated and placed on paid State Active Duty to help augment the soldiers of the New York National Guard.

Sabin said, “The State Guard is made up of both prior service members and civilians who do not have any military experience. For me it has been great exposure to military life, and I have really grown from being a part of it. It’s a great way to give something back to the State of New York and its people.”

Sabin started out in the NY Guard as a Private in 2013. Since then, he was promoted to Specialist, then Sergeant, and in the first week of 2019, he was accepted to Officer Candidate School where he will attend classes and train over the course of two years to become a Second Lieutenant (2LT). Since 2013, he has also been activated to State Active Duty several times, participating most recently in last year’s Hurricane Maria relief mission to help get food and medical supplies to the people of Puerto Rico as well as Operation Empire Shield, launched by Governor Cuomo in 2016 after the Chelsea pipe bombing in Manhattan. Sabin has also worked multiple, smaller force protection missions at Camp Smith since 2013.

“I have had the chance to do work and meet people I would have never had the opportunity to otherwise, and for that I am very thankful. Now, with the chance to go to Officer Candidate School, those opportunities will only grow. So I am planning to continue with this unique mix of military and community service for a long time to come.”

[nypaenergy]

#NYPATop10: Five Cities Energy Plan Projects

Coming in at Number 5 on our #NYPATop10 List: the Five Cities Energy Plan projects.

In November, the City of Yonkers completed energy efficiency projects that included the purchase of electric vehicles for the city fleet, new charging stations and new solar & wind powered lighting at the JFK Marina. 

Rochester received over $800,000 in funding for two new innovative energy-saving projects that will save the city approximately $90,000 in annual energy costs.

[nypaenergy]

#NYPATop10: NYPA.gov

It all started with an idea. Our new website, NYPA.gov, was launched earlier this year - picking up the number 7 spot on our #NYPATop10 list.

With the new redesign, finding a job, information on our projects, RFP's & much more info is now right at your fingertips.

[nypaenergy]

#NYPATop10: Events in Western New York

Various events in Western New York mark the 8th spot on our #NYPATop10 list.

In July, the Niagara Power Project Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places. 

We also broke ground on the Explore & More Children's Museum in Buffalo, bringing more jobs, tourism & excitement to the Canalside area. 

Finally, our Niagara Power Vista and the Discover Niagara Shuttle was recognized by NYS Tourism Industry Association for the 2017 Excellence in Tourism Economic Development Award. 

[nypaenergy]

#NYPATop10: The Gray Owl & our Nature Center in Massena

Next on our #NYPATop10 list: the Gray Owl & our Nature Center in Massena. 

Rare sightings of a great grey owl on Barnhart Island brought birdwatchers of all types to the area in hopes of seeing the world’s largest species of owl. 

More on the owl: https://nypaenergy.tumblr.com/post/158934283681/great-grey-owl-sightings-bringing-more-visitors-to

Also in Massena, we opened the new Eugene L. Nicandri Nature Center, a new state-of-the-art science and nature education center. 

More info & photos: https://www.nypa.gov/news/press-releases/2017/20170502-nypa-nature-center

[nypaenergy]

NYPA’s Lewiston Plant LEM Advances with Completion of Another Unit

The Life Extension and Modernization (LEM) Program for NYPA’s Niagara Power Project’s Lewiston Pump Generating Plant (LPGP) reached another milestone on Oct. 6 when the seventh of 12 pump-turbine units was put into service under the multiyear initiative.  

LPGP is the auxiliary facility to the Niagara project’s main generating facility, the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant. It is one of two major pump-storage generating facilities in the state, along with our Blenheim-Gilboa facility.

The overhaul of the latest pump-turbine reflects a closely coordinated effort of NYPA’s Project Management group, supported by Niagara maintenance staff and two firms—Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems and Andritz Hydro—which are the manufacturers of the new equipment. Each of the new pump-turbine units weighs approximately 68 tons.

The $460 million LEM, which began in 2012, is being undertaken one pump-turbine unit at a time—typically in nine-month intervals—as part of a phase-in schedule for ensuring that 11 of 12 units are available at any given time for meeting our commitments to power customers. The overall initiative is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

“We’ve managed to keep the LEM on schedule, despite a number of challenges, which have been effectively dealt with,” said Anthony Dell’isola, resident construction manager, Niagara. “No small credit for this is due to our in-house Project Management staff and craft union personnel.”

The LEM has involved replacing equipment dating back to 1961 when the Niagara project first generated power. Work on the eighth pump-turbine unit began on Oct. 16 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of May 2018.  

[nypaenergy]

NYPA recently partnered with a Canadian utility for a first-time drone inspection of the Lake Erie - Niagara River ice boom. Part of a collaboration with Ontario Power Generation, the test showed how the latest technology can be used to easily identify the nature of a problem and potential fix, reducing the risk exposure of sending employees out on the river and bringing down repair costs.

“Drone technology has so much potential for helping the utility industry monitor assets that need to be maintained in a safer, faster and more cost-effective way,” --Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO.