With renewables coming up short, New York City will hold onto natural gas-fired power plants

New York will reportedly have to keep four natural gas generators running two years past their planned retirement dates to avoid blackouts due to increasing electricity demand.

The New York Independent System Operator, a nonprofit responsible for operating the state's bulk electricity grid, announced this week it will keep four floating natural-gas fired power plants running beyond their May 2025 retirement dates to ensure New York City residents will have enough electricity, Reuters reports.

The grid operator determined last summer that the city would have a 446-megawatt shortfall due to rapid electrification in the city, as fossil fuel-powered vehicles and appliances and replaced with electric.

Under New York State Department of Environmental Conservation rule, the state had shut down 950 megawatts of generation in “environmental justice areas,” but the rule contained a provision to allow some plants to keep operating if grid reliability were to be threatened.

Unable to ensure enough power to the city with renewable energy sources, NYISO decided to postpone the four gas-fired plants’ retirement. The plants provide 508 megawatts of reserve power to the city's grid.