Federal, state and local government and energy industry leaders gathered yesterday to unveil the completed construction of the New York Independent System Operator‘s NYISO) new, $38 million primary power control center. The 64,000-square-foot control facility features the latest digital monitoring technologies to strengthen grid reliability and security throughout the state and region.
“Our new control center will help us meet the 21st century's grid reliability requirements through the use of the latest control technologies and state-of-the-art visual displays that are designed to improve the NYISO's ability to receive, process and monitor changing conditions throughout the region,” said Stephen G. Whitley, the NYISO's president and CEO. “Reliable operation of the grid requires constant vigilance – balancing the supply of power with consumer demand for electricity on a moment-to-moment basis – every hour of the day, every day of the year.”
“It is critically important that we maintain and improve the reliability of the electric power system, as it is vital to the production of goods and services in both the commercial and industrial sectors,” said Heather C. Briccetti, Esq., president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State. “The opening of the NYISO control center will increase situational awareness of the electric power system, which is crucial in improving the reliability and resiliency of the grid. Replacing one of the oldest North American ISO and RTO control centers with the new center is a positive step for New York's business community.”
The new primary control center supports a number of key energy goals, including:
- Enabling improved integration of renewable energy supplies by deploying renewable resource management tools such as wind forecasts, meteorological conditions and generation output data to better assess and employ variable wind and solar renewable power resources.
- Maintaining reliability while managing the growing complexity of modern electric grid operations through smart grid technology that integrates and processes significantly higher volumes of data.
- Implementing the NYISO's broader regional markets initiative that will provide New York with approximately $190 million in annual savings through mechanisms that eliminate market barriers and optimize resources among regions.
This state-of-the-art facility also harnesses grid control technologies installed in the NYISO's smart grid project, which was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
With support from the Recovery Act, the Energy Department partnered with utilities across the United States to deploy sophisticated grid sensors – known as synchrophasors – that monitor the flow of electricity with unprecedented precision and provide continuous and near-real-time information on the grid's health and security.
These measurements allow system operators and owners to identify and respond to potential disturbances quickly and effectively – improving overall grid reliability, safeguarding against power outages and enabling faster restoration of power. The new control center will give NYISO and neighboring grid control areas a far more expansive and in-depth view of the power grid.