Hydropower
Preserve and Enhance the Value of Hydropower
Continuously operated since 1958, NYPA’s hydropower assets are a significant source of clean power for New York State.
Our Hydropower Provides:
- About 20 percent of New York State’s electricity, generating approximately 25 terawatt hours in 2019
- An important economic engine for New York State, providing power and supporting more than 400,000 jobs through NYPA’s low-cost economic development programs
- Clean baseload supply, an increasingly vital resource to complement renewable generation intermittency
- Flexibility and grid stabilization capabilities, such as spinning reserves, inertia and blackstart, which are essential for counteracting instabilities in the power system
- Long-duration storage: our Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project and Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant store energy for retimed usage, addressing peak-hour and inter-day fluctuations in energy demand
The Challenge for Hydropower
As subsidized renewable resources continue to enter the market, hydropower assets are at risk of being increasingly curtailed. The resulting increase in ramping and operating below capacity drives higher operations and maintenance costs, and impacts system costs for all ratepayers. Unless there is a change in market and policy conditions, NYPA’s hydroelectric assets will not serve the energy consumers of New York State optimally.
NYPA Responds
VISION2030 outlines a path to preserve and fully realize the value of hydroelectric assets for New York State’s clean energy future by actively advocating for policy and market rules that optimize the benefit of hydropower to customers; ensuring our assets are in good working order; improving the competitiveness of our hydropower plants in the market through automation, digitalization and advanced analytics; and evaluating alternative contracting or off take arrangements.
The Energy of New York
NYPA operates generating facilities throughout the state. More than 70 percent of the power we generate is clean hydropower.