2008 Woodie Awards
Keeping NY lit
Katelynn Wilton
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: News
Just twenty-four hours before the start of the career fair, one company took a different approach. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) decided to provide the students of Clarkson with a seminar instead of an information session at 4:00 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. On January 24, Walter Pfuntner spoke to a lecture hall full of interested students on the importance and inner workings of "Planning for Reliability in Competitive Markets."
Pfuntner's seminar focused on what the NYISO is responsible for. The reliability of the New York State electric system, as well as administration of New York wholesale electricity and the regulation of generators, all falls into their hands. The NYISO is responsible for a maximum of almost thirty-four thousand megawatts of power consumed within New York State. In order to ensure reliability, the NYISO must make sure that a loss of electric flow happens a maximum of once every ten years. This standard was set up after the 2003 blackout in the Midwest. The Northeast was not affected because it has been functioning under this new law, but the rest of the country was forced to raise their standards under the new Federal Law or face severe penalties of one million dollars per day of non-compliance.
The NYISO also described the rigors of balancing all of the different power supplies. In addition to providing studies on voltage and different sources of power. They also are responsible for transporting the electricity to its final destination. In the competitive market, many different groups influence their sales. Transmission and generator owners demand side management, mercast transmission, and load serving entities all affect the market. Some buildings even volunteer to be able to shut down all of their power within five minutes if deemed necessary in case of an overflow. All of these factors make the market that much more complex.
Market participants, such as those mentioned above, receive income based on their installed capacity, the energy they produce, their reserve capability, their voltage support, and their ability to start without an energy source (as would be necessary if the grid lost power). On top of all of this, each generator must keep an extra 15-18 percent reserve at all times in case of emergency increase of power usage.
Pfuntner's seminar focused on what the NYISO is responsible for. The reliability of the New York State electric system, as well as administration of New York wholesale electricity and the regulation of generators, all falls into their hands. The NYISO is responsible for a maximum of almost thirty-four thousand megawatts of power consumed within New York State. In order to ensure reliability, the NYISO must make sure that a loss of electric flow happens a maximum of once every ten years. This standard was set up after the 2003 blackout in the Midwest. The Northeast was not affected because it has been functioning under this new law, but the rest of the country was forced to raise their standards under the new Federal Law or face severe penalties of one million dollars per day of non-compliance.
The NYISO also described the rigors of balancing all of the different power supplies. In addition to providing studies on voltage and different sources of power. They also are responsible for transporting the electricity to its final destination. In the competitive market, many different groups influence their sales. Transmission and generator owners demand side management, mercast transmission, and load serving entities all affect the market. Some buildings even volunteer to be able to shut down all of their power within five minutes if deemed necessary in case of an overflow. All of these factors make the market that much more complex.
Market participants, such as those mentioned above, receive income based on their installed capacity, the energy they produce, their reserve capability, their voltage support, and their ability to start without an energy source (as would be necessary if the grid lost power). On top of all of this, each generator must keep an extra 15-18 percent reserve at all times in case of emergency increase of power usage.
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