New York says U.S. carbon plan threatens power grid reliability

Dec 2 (Reuters) - New York's power grid operator on Tuesday warned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon emissions from power plants could threaten the reliability of the state's electric grid.

The EPA proposed the Clean Power Plan in June to cut existing power-plant carbon emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) was not alone in criticizing the EPA's carbon reduction plan.

Over the last six months, the EPA received more than 1.6 million comments by its Dec. 1 deadline.

In their comments, most grid operators, utilities and industry groups said the proposed rule seeks too much in emission reductions too quickly and will threaten power reliability.

"As proposed, the Clean Power Plan presents potentially serious reliability implications for New York," the NYISO said in a release.

The NYISO said most of the capacity in New York City consists of dual-fueled oil- and gas-fired units that are "critically important" because of their location within the transmission constrained city area.

Because the units are dual-fueled, the NYISO said they "provide a needed measure of protection against disruptions in the natural gas supply system".

That added protection was critical in helping to keep the lights on during the coldest days last winter when pipeline constraints made gas supplies tight.

The NYISO questioned the EPA's assumption that the output from these dual-fueled units could be reduced by "over 99 percent, while maintaining reliable service to New York City".

"Such a reduction cannot be sustained while maintaining reliable electric service to New York City," the NYISO said.

The NYISO also took issue with the emission-reduction targets and time lines established in the proposed plan.

"The flaws with the Clean Power Plan that would compromise reliability in New York stem from key assumptions ... that are not technically sound and result in ... targets that are unreasonable and unworkable within the time frames provided."

The NYISO said the EPA did not give the state credit for the emission cuts it has already made as a member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

"New York has already reduced CO2 emissions from its power sector by 41.6 percent below 2005 levels and generates approximately 53 percent of the electricity it uses on an annual basis from non-emitting resources," the NYISO said. (Reporting by Scott DiSavino; editing by Gunna Dickson)