LIPA, National Grid Ink New Power Service Agreement

A new power service agreement between LIPA and National Grid could mean good news for Port Jefferson village, according to a report published Wednesday in The Port Times Record.

The power service agreement (PSA), which went into effect in May and runs through April of 2028, paves the way for a potential upgrading or re-powering of the Port Jefferson power plant. Approval of the agreement was given by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

The Port Times Record quoted FERC as saying: "We find that this agreement not only reduces costs to LIPA as compared to the [previous PSA], but also provides LIPA with additional flexibility to address changing conditions. This flexibility is the result of the addition of the repowering and ramp down provisions that were not present in the 1998 PSA."

The Port Times Record also reported that LIPA now has the ability to request the retirement of energy facilities, as well as request that National Grid undertake a cost assessment of the viability of re-powering. The newspaper reported that a LIPA trustee said "the plan is to repower Port Jefferson," though acknowledged it is unclear how Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed restructuring of LIPA would affect the local power plant.

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