New York mayor unveils plan to boost generation, efficiency

Charlottesville, Virginia (Platts)--23Apr2007

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, saying the city can no longer be "held
hostage to heat waves," Sunday said he wants to increase amount of in-city
generating capacity by more than 3,000 MW.

The new energy strategy is part of a broader policy initiative--PlaNYC: A
Greener, Greater New York--aimed at achieving more sustainable practices in
energy, transportation, housing, recreation and water use. Bloomberg outlined
the plan during an Earth Day speech at the Museum of Natural History.

Bloomberg said the city will establish a New York City Energy Planning
Board to centralize new supply and demand initiatives and encourage the
development of 2,000 to 3,000 MW of capacity by repowering old plants,
building new ones, and constructing dedicated transmission lines.

In addition, the city plans to expand clean distributed generation by 800
MW and promote opportunities to develop district energy.

Bloomberg said he also will push to accelerate reliability improvements
to the city's grid and expand its natural gas infrastructure.

The new policy puts strong emphasis on energy efficiency. The city plans
to use a series of mandates, challenges, and incentives to cut demand among
New York's largest consumers and expand use of smart meters and real-time
pricing. City government itself will attempt to reduce its annual energy bill
10%, with the help of a new energy efficiency authority, Bloomberg said.