The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) is developing two new power generation projects for completion by next summer and will announce a third project in December, officials said Thursday. FPL Energy and PSEG Power have been selected to build the two facilities, which would add a combined total of 134.9 MW to enhance Long Island’s ability to introduce competition to its service territory.

Florida-based FPL was selected to build and operate a 55 MW unit next to its Bayswater facility in Far Rockaway. New Jersey-based PSEG will develop a project in North Bellport that would produce 79.9 MW.

“As a result of Long Island’s soaring peak demand and the growing sustained demand for electricity on Long Island, we need to add 200 MW of new on-island capacity by next summer,” said LIPA Chairman Richard M. Kessel. “These new units will help ensure that we will have an adequate supply of electricity to meet demand during periods of high heat and humidity, especially during an extreme heat wave, and to be available in the event Long Island loses a major transmission line or power plant during the summer.”

Kessel said that the prospect of adding large-capacity baseload plants is years away, and adding more small generation units will help with next summer’s demand. However, to have them ready, he said the projects needed to move forward now. Kessel said that with the new units, an additional unit, and the proposed Freeport project, LIPA should have enough capacity to get Long Island through the summer of 2004. A new baseload plant will be online by the summer of 2005, he said.

LIPA delivered a total of 6,609,112 MWh to the Long Island Control Area (LICA) during the months of June, July and August, which constitutes the peak demand period for electricity on Long Island. The summer 2002 total was 10% higher than the 2001 peak demand period total of 6,043,205 MWh. LIPA also set a new summer peak-hour demand record this summer when the 5,000 MW level was exceeded for the first time. On July 29, 5,059 MW were delivered to the LICA, which broke the previous peak-hour demand record of 5,030 MW set only 26 days earlier on July 3. The 2001 peak-hour demand record of 4,906 MW was set on August 8, during an extreme heat wave.

In addition to exceeding the 5,000 MW level twice this summer, LIPA exceeded the 4,000 MW level a total of 29 times. However, on most of the days when peak hour demand exceeded 5,000 MW, or ran well into the high 4,000 MW level, the LICA was consuming electricity in excess of 4,000 MW for many more consecutive hours. On some peak demand days, for example, LICA demand exceeded the 4,000 MW level for as much as six to 12 consecutive hours at a time.

“Blackouts were avoided last summer because we added more than 400 MW of new on-island generation,” said Kessel. “Had we not added those new generation resources, we would have been only a few megawatts away from blackouts, because we would have had no margin for the loss of an on-island generation or cable asset. The prospect of blackouts on Long Island is unacceptable. The adverse impact that blackouts would have on Long Island’s public safety, general welfare and economy would be catastrophic. Blackouts due to a shortage of electricity can not and will not be allowed to happen.”

The FPL Energy project, to be called Jamaica Bay, will use a Pratt & Whitney Swift -Pac, simple-cycle, low-emission turbine, which will operate on #2 fuel oil. It may use natural gas when supplies become available. The anticipated in-service date for this project is June 2003. The PSEG Power-North Bellport project will use two General Electric Frame 7EA simple-cycle, low-emission, natural-gas fired turbines, and no alternative fuel will be used for this unit. The Bellport facility will be built in an Empire Development Zone in North Bellport, near Exit 66 of the Long Island Expressway. The in-service date for this project is July 2003.

Open House forums for the projects are in the process of being scheduled for both communities. Dates, times and locations will be announced shortly. Additional information on LIPA’s summer electric demand or its Draft Energy Plan for Long Island can be accessed on its web site at www.lipower.org.

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