New York state officials will soon consider whether the National Grid facility in Greenpoint should remain open, but some environmental activists say the state agency connected to the case has been giving them the cold shoulder in recent communication.
Two years ago, environmental advocates in Greenpoint won a hard-fought victory when the state’s Public Service Commission, the regulatory body that controls utilities, rejected National Grid’s application to build two new vaporizers in the neighborhood.
Activists have since turned their attention to a larger challenge — shutting down the facility for good. Just months after National Grid withdrew their application for the new vaporizers, they won a rate case with the PSC to help finance nearly $5 billion in projects. One rate hike went into effect for New York City area customers last year, averaging about an extra $30 for monthly bills, with additional hikes set for April 1, and in 2026. National Grid claims that they need the hikes to maintain a standard of service and allow them to update their natural gas infrastructure, such as replacing old pipes with new ones. But critics have pushed back on their rationale, questioning why we would continue to invest in fossil fuels when the climate crisis looms at our doorstep, with deadlines for reaching state-mandated climate goals fast approaching. The state passed a law in 2019 requiring a 40% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
“As a community, we want to be moving toward 21st century technology, not moving backward to 19th century technology,” said Kim Fraczek, director of the local non-profit Sane Energy Project. “We should be following our climate laws that are trying to move us into the future, to sustainability and renewable energy.”
Sane Energy Project ultimately lost the case against the rate hikes, but that process opened the door for a broader discussion on the necessity of the Greenpoint facility, known as the Greenpoint Energy Center. The PSC has required National Grid to submit a plan outlying its future, referred to as a Long-Term Gas Plan proceeding. The case merited an independent consultant to make recommendations as part of the arrangement. National Grid is required to answer the discovery questions submitted by Sane Energy Project. Some of those questions concern whether or not National Grid has utilized the facility enough to justify its continued existence. National Grid allegedly told the non-profit that it used the Greenpoint Energy Center zero times during recent cold weather snaps; in a statement at the end of the article, National Grid maintains that they did.
The non-profit hopes that compelling National Grid to show their work will allow for a more accurate picture of the situation as the state considers whether or not to decommission the Greenpoint Energy Center. Fraczek pointed to past incidents in which they felt like National Grid deceived customers, souring their reputation in the community. In 2019, the state blocked National Grid’s request for a new pipeline. In response, the energy conglomerate implemented a moratorium on new gas hookups for customers in southern New York, claiming that they faced a gas shortage. Then-governor Andrew Cuomo accused them of juicing up a crisis in order to get their way and threatened to revoke their license to do business in southern New York (National Grid ultimately acquiesced).
Fraczek tells Greenpointers that Sane Energy Project has submitted a few discovery questions that have gone unanswered, with the PSC seemingly blocking the independent consultant from responding. Fraczek says this caginess goes against the previously agreed-upon standard for asking and answering questions.
“We’re concerned that not only is National Grid not being honest and truthful, but once we’ve backed them into a corner, now the state is stepping in to be like ‘Hey, we don’t need to answer anything.’ What are they hiding from?” she wondered.
National Grid provided the following statement to Greenpointers, also pointing us to their Long Term Plan:
“National Grid’s top priority is delivering energy to our customers when they need it, and the Greenpoint Energy Center is essential to this goal. The energy stored at Greenpoint is an on-system energy reserve and ensures we have sufficient supply on the coldest days of the year when demand spikes, so New York families can heat their homes during extreme weather events. The facility is also crucial for reliability in the event of an interruption to supply deliveries, which we experienced during Winter Storm Elliott. The potential for high natural gas demand still exists as evidenced in our Long Term Gas Plan, and as was experienced by the company during the events surrounding Winter Storm Elliott – extreme cold temperatures and supply delivery interruptions.
We have invested billions in clean energy infrastructure, especially in transmission projects to bring renewable energy to our customers. However, until more firm renewable energy generation is built and connected to the grid, Greenpoint is the only backstop that ensures over a million New Yorkers can access reliable energy, especially during cold snaps and snowstorms. Shutting them down would create critical shortfalls, potentially leaving customers without heat in dangerous conditions.”
Last Monday, Sane Energy Project filed a motion to compel the commission to respond to their unanswered questions. The independent consultant will file their recommendation to the commission on May 7.
“The PSC is proud of its critically important gas planning proceeding and its thorough examination of all of the major gas utilities in New York State, including National Grid,” a Department of Public Service spokesperson said to Greenpointers. “The motion recently submitted by Sane Energy is being reviewed.”
The PSC will likely consider the next steps in late summer or early fall.
Shut down this facility, National Grid couldn’t give two shits about the health and welfare of Greenpoint residents.