LIPA Energy Plan 2004-2013

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is pleased to provide Long Island consumers, civic and community organizations, local and state agencies and other concerned constituencies with the Final Report of its Energy Plan to address Long Island’s electricity supply requirements for the period 2004 through 2013.

On June 23, 2004, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Board of Trustees approved the Final Energy Plan to address Long Island’s electricity supply requirements for the period 2004 - 2013.

The dramatic changes in the electric industry that we and our customers have experienced have also had a profound impact on the energy planning process. LIPA has responded to this new environment by developing a flexible and dynamic planning process that incorporates investment in customer programs, energy efficiency, conservation, and new technologies, encouraging development of merchant transmission and generation, adding off-Island transmission interconnection capability, enhancing existing power supply resources, and evaluating the need to build new ones.

Plan Organization
The intent of the Energy Plan is to provide a blueprint for Long Island’s energy future. It articulates LIPA’s strategy for developing a balanced and comprehensive energy policy, discusses the methodologies employed and rigorous technical analyses undertaken in support of crafting the plan, and incorporates valuable oral and written commentary received from its concerned customers and other interested parties.

Additionally, it includes a discussion of the critical education activities underway to disseminate information about how changes in the electric industry impact LIPA and its customers. In order to comprehensively address these issues, LIPA has organized the Energy Plan and supporting documentation in a five volume set as follows:

Volume 1, Strategic PlanPDF
Provides a description of LIPA’s Energy Plan for the period 2004 through 2013. This volume identifies LIPA’s objectives which drive, and guide the actions taken to meet Long Island’s energy needs, the key goals the plan is intended to achieve, and the activities that LIPA will undertake in support of its objectives and goals;

Volume 2, Energy PrimerPDF
Provides 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. A glossary of energy industry terms is provided to facilitate the readers understanding;

Volume 3, Technical ReportPDF
Provides detailed information about the planning process and the planning methodologies employed to create the Energy Plan. Information about LIPA, its service territory, the history of energy consumption in the area, the economic environment, resource availability, and the transmission and distribution infrastructure is also provided;

Volume 4, Response to CommentsPDF
Summarizes the comments received during the Draft Energy Plan public hearing process that was jointly sponsored with the Sustainable Energy Alliance earlier in 2003. LIPA provides responses to commentators, organized according to similarity of contents and LIPA’s objectives presented its Energy Plan;

Volume 5, AppendixPDF
Provides additional details on studies, methodologies, and criteria used in the planning analysis.

UPDATED - Volume 5, App. F - Transmission & Distribution Planning Criteria & Guidelines
On March 11, 2008, LIPA adopted a new Transmission and Distribution Planning Criteria & Guidelines Document that supersedes the document in Appendix F.

Objectives
LIPA has developed a set of five objectives that form the guiding principles for developing initiatives to meet the energy needs of Long Island in a safe, reliable and environmentally responsible manner, while maintaining competitive prices. These objectives are:

  • Enhance reliability of the bulk power system,
  • Enhance reliability of the distribution system,
  • Minimize customer rates/increase customer satisfaction,
  • Promote a healthy environment, and
  • Position LIPA to respond rapidly to change.

LIPA has organized its discussion of the Energy Plan around the actions required to fulfill these objectives and has identified key goals that the plan is intended to achieve and short-term targets that will serve as milestones in measuring the success in meeting these goals.

Plan Elements
LIPA's energy plan recognizes the strong interrelationships of delivery resources and energy sources. LIPA utilizes a flexible approach to investing in the next resource option, whether that option is transmission, demand-based, distribution, renewable energy resources, or traditional generation resources, because it is a prudent course of action to maintain many options for as long as possible before full commitment so that mid-course corrections are possible.

LIPA’s Energy Plan considers both the short- and long-term needs of the consumer while simultaneously seeking to reduce risks inherent in the energy market. Short-term activities are necessary to invest today to ensure sufficient resource and reliability in the next three years. Longer-term activities can continue to be investigated while market activities are assessed and evaluated prior to investment. This approach lowers the cost for our consumers and ensures that quick action can be taken as events occur that require a change in plan.

Summary
The Energy Plan builds on the foundation of plans and programs that have been put in place since May of 1998, when LIPA became Long Island’s retail supplier of electricity. It will continue to evolve in the decades ahead. But it will always focus on the overarching need to provide Long Islanders with balanced, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly energy solutions. LIPA also commends the participation of Long Island citizens and coalitions in the Draft Energy Plan public hearing process. LIPA’s responses to commentators are included in this plan. Many of the issues articulated by these concerned parties warrant further investigation, and where appropriate, have been incorporated in the Energy Plan initiatives.

The dynamic and flexible planning approach LIPA has adopted will continue to require a careful scrutiny of system and market conditions to ensure that the Energy Plan remains on track for meeting Long Island’s electricity needs. The results contained herein are not meant to be prescriptive in their recommendations. Rather, LIPA has instituted a process to monitor the market place, system conditions, and customer demands in order to make timely decisions regarding its future actions while maintaining flexibility to consider demand, and supply resource options as long as practically possible.

Last Updated: 03/31/2008