New York's electric grid is facing historically narrow reliability margins due to rising power demand.

The state experienced power shutoffs in Queens during a July heatwave to prevent a wider system collapse.

The article advocates for the Constitution Pipeline to bring natural gas from Pennsylvania to enhance energy supply.

Proponents argue the pipeline would lower energy costs, increase reliability, and support economic competitiveness.

This past April, the New York Independent System Operator, or NYISO, the nonprofit that manages the state’s electric grid, warned that the reliability margin for the looming summer months was just 417 megawatts — the lowest margin in recent history. 

This was the case even though New York added more generating capacity over the past year, reflecting the difficulty in keeping pace with the steadily rising demand for more power.

In July, at the height of a dangerous heat wave, the precarious state of the grid hit home for thousands of New Yorkers. Operating reserves fell below the NYISO’s safety threshold of 2,620-megawatt threshold, causing ConEd to temporarily shut off power to just shy of 10,000 Queens customers to guard against a system-wide collapse. 

New York needs every energy generation capacity available

This is the new normal in a state that is........

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