The New York Independent System Operator (NY-ISO) expects to operate “in an environment of expanded dependency on natural gas-fired generation, renewable generation and retirements of less efficient generation” over the next five years, the electricity grid operator said in its 2013-2017 Strategic Plan.

Central to its plans through 2017 is an initiative to expand gas-electric coordination, including increasing NY-ISO Control Room visibility “into the operations and maintenance of the gas pipeline system serving New York generation,” NY-ISO said.

The grid operator would also seek to enhance maintenance coordination between gas and electric systems, and initiate an interregional gas/electric study to examine the impacts of natural gas expansion on bulk power systems. And NY-ISO said it would develop a market design for electric energy storage “to address generator intermittency and gas pipeline contingencies.”

NY-ISO said it envisions “developing a shared understanding of regional gas delivery constraints for power generation as well as a commitment to address them collaboratively.”

NYISO and regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection, which together coordinate the movement of wholesale electricity in 14 of the nation’s most populated states and the District of Columbia, recently agreed to a long-term strategy that includes a call for developing a shared understanding of regional natural gas delivery constraints on power generation (see Daily GPI, Oct. 19).

The study followed fivetechnical conferences sponsored by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission this past summer to explore coordination issues between the gas and electricity markets (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31; Aug. 29, Aug. 21, Aug. 24). At those meetings some power generators opposed a suggestion that they be mandated to commit to firm pipeline capacity to deliver natural gas.

In addition to improved market coordination, NY-ISO said it plans to enhance electric grid reliability through improved power flows, technological innovation and collaborative planning.

The five-year plan, which has been approved by the NY-ISO board of directors, incorporates long-term objectives, financial discipline and operational priorities based on the board’s review of the economic and regulatory outlook, economic and environmental factors affecting market participants “and the growing interest in using competitive wholesale electricity markets to achieve public policy priorities,” the grid operator said.

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