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e-FFICIENCY NEWS: While at the helm of NYPA you were often noted to be a strong advocate of energy efficiency measures. What actions has NYPA taken to promote energy efficiency and what has been the result, both for NYPA and New York State? ZELTMANN: I’m extremely proud of the New York Power Authority’s role as a national leader in advancing energy efficiency. I often describe the power business as a three-legged stool encompassing generation, transmission and distribution, and aggressive measures to save energy. That third element is absolutely critical to our efforts to protect the environment and reduce dependence on foreign oil while continuing to provide the electricity that our society demands. The Power Authority to date has completed energy-efficiency projects at more than 2,350 public facilities throughout New York State, with a total investment of more than $840 million. The sites range from Manhattan landmarks such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Bellevue Hospital to municipal buildings, public schools and libraries in some of the state’s smallest communities. State government buildings in Albany and virtually all of New York’s State University campuses are also among the program participants. Overall, NYPA’s completed projects have reduced peak demand for electricity by more than 190 megawatts while cutting annual energy use by more than 870,000 megawatt hours and saving consumers some $92 million a year on their electricity bills. The projects have also reduced annual greenhouse-gas emissions by about 730,000 tons. While our original focus was on high-efficiency lighting, we’ve expanded the program to include various measures such as new motors and boilers and computerized energy management systems. We’ve also removed polluting coal-burning furnaces from 86 public schools, mostly in New York City but also in Buffalo and on Long Island, and have installed more than 186,000 energy-efficient refrigerators in public-housing apartments in New York City and Buffalo. The refrigerator program was featured in a recent article in The New York Times, along with our installation of efficient light-emitting diodes for traffic lights in Queens. Based on our successful project, the city has adapted LED technology to all of its traffic lights. We’ve carried out similar programs for the cities of Mount Vernon, Peekskill and New Rochelle in neighboring Westchester County. Also in Westchester, we take particular pride in a major energy-efficiency project that we completed at our own office building in White Plains. Thanks to this $3.4 million initiative, we’ve cut annual energy use in the building by more than 50 percent, peak demand for electricity by about 35 percent and our yearly energy bill by more than $400,000. We’ve also reduced annual greenhouse gas emissions by some 4,100 tons. We view this as a great example of government leading by example. We’ve also had considerable success with our summer Peak Load Management program for our government and business customers in New York City. We pay participants $40 for each kilowatt of demand they agree to cut when we implement the program on hot days. Last summer, customers committed to reduce demand by a total of 62 megawatts at more than 90 locations by turning off discretionary equipment or using their own generation. In everything we do, we try to drive home the point that using energy more efficiently does not imply that anyone will be inconvenienced or deprived. As I told the Times, “If we use energy more wisely, there will be more energy for people to consume and less energy for us to produce.” e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Can you briefly talk about NYPA’s Energy Services Programs and how they reflect on the utility industry as a whole? ZELTMANN: With the coming of competition to our industry, many investor-owned utilities no longer have financial incentives to encourage energy efficiency among their customers. I therefore believe that the efforts of public entities such as the Power Authority have become more essential than ever. We take full responsibility for our programs, from facility audits through construction management and quality assurance. We provide the financing and recover our costs by sharing in the savings on participants’ electricity bills. Participants retain all the savings once we’ve recovered our costs. I think it’s significant that NYPA provides both technical expertise and financial resources—two commodities that are often in short supply for the public entities benefiting from the programs. Our energy-efficiency projects are complemented by our ambitious efforts to promote clean new energy sources and electric-drive transportation. We’ve installed 13 fuel cells and 23 solar energy projects in various parts of the state and have helped to put about 800 electric and hybrid-electric vehicles in service in our own fleet and those of others. In 2001, New York Governor George E. Pataki issued an Executive Order setting challenging targets for state entities with respect to energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean transportation. Based on a proposal by the governor, the state Public Service Commission in 2004 ordered that at least 25 percent of the electricity sold at retail in the state come from renewable sources by 2013. So NYPA is operating in a very positive framework for what we’re trying to accomplish. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: What has NYPA done to address the rising costs of energy prices across the region this winter? ZELTMANN: By last fall, it was evident that soaring prices for natural gas and oil, which together account for more than 30 percent of the electricity produced in New York State, would be reflected in high power costs this winter. I therefore sent letters—about 1,800 in all—to NYPA’s business, governmental and municipal system and cooperative customers, urging them to use energy as efficiently as possible. The response was encouraging, particularly from our business customers. A number inquired as to how we could work with them to promote energy efficiency, and we hope to expand our activities in this regard. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Where do you see the role of the utility industry in terms of energy efficiency and energy responsibility? ZELTMANN: Electricity is, of course, essential to our modern computerized society. Beyond that, by bringing the full benefits of electrification to developing countries, we can ease the international tensions caused by economic disparities and limited resources. And if we use energy efficiently and tap the potential of clean sources and technologies, electricity can help address some of the world’s most imposing environmental problems. We must recognize that the environment is a matter of increasing public concern. There’s not a choice between keeping the lights on and protecting the environment. We must do both—and energy efficiency must play a key role in enabling us to meet this considerable challenge while also reducing our reliance on oil and, for that matter, natural gas. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: You’ve had a long, illustrious career in the energy sector. As you prepare to step down from your current position, take a moment to reflect for us. Would you have done anything differently? ZELTMANN: I suppose that, with the benefit of hindsight, you would always handle some situations differently. But I think that, on balance, the Power Authority has made the right choices during the nearly 8 l/2 years that I’ve been here. Of course, as you get ready to retire, you inevitably wish you had just a little extra time to do more. For me, that’s particularly true concerning energy efficiency. NYPA has been extremely successful in that area, but I think maybe we could have been even more aggressive in promoting our programs. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: Looking forward, what do you think are some of the key issues the nation will need to address to insure reliable, clean and efficient energy? Do you think we have an adequate national energy policy? ZELTMANN: I think we’ll have to intensify our efforts to diversify our fuel sources and bolster energy security. We’ve learned to our dismay that natural gas, like oil, is subject to extreme price volatility and supply constraints. Through government policy and customer education, we must increase our emphasis on renewable resources and energy efficiency. I’m encouraged by the growing interest in coal gasification and other clean-coal technologies that will enable us to capitalize on domestic coal resources. In fact, Governor Pataki in his recently proposed 2006 budget called for an ambitious “Clean Coal” initiative for New York State, in which NYPA would have a prominent part. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 includes a number of beneficial provisions, including tax credits and other incentives for energy efficiency, renewable energy, demand-side management and clean-coal technologies. The legislation also paves the way for long overdue mandatory national reliability standards. While it doesn’t establish a truly national energy policy, I think it takes some promising steps in that direction. e-FFICIENCY NEWS: As a partner in the National Plug-In Partners Campaign, can you elaborate on the role plug-in hybrid vehicles play? ZELTMANN: We’re very enthused about plug-in hybrids, which have the potential to almost double the fuel savings of conventional hybrids while significantly reducing emissions of regulated pollutants and greenhouse gases. NYPA is working with the Electric Power Research Institute and others to fund the development of DaimlerChrysler’s Sprinter plug-in hybrid van. We plan to demonstrate five Sprinter prototypes in New York State, with the first scheduled to arrive in June. As you’ve indicated, we’ve also joined various utilities in a national initiative to promote the deployment of plug-in hybrids through rebates and other incentives and commitments for fleet orders. The plug-in vehicles will be connected directly to the power grid and will be able to run on a single electrical charge for up to 20 miles—with no emissions and no use of gasoline. Since about half the cars in the United States travel 20 miles a day or less, there eventually could be a sizable impact in terms of cleaning the air and cutting dependence on oil. For driving beyond 20 miles between charges, the vehicles would go into the conventional gas-hybrid mode. Overall, they could get 100 miles or more per gallon of gasoline—a very appealing prospect. Originally published in the February 2006 edition of e-FFICIENCY NEWS. |
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February 2006 – The New York Power Authority (NYPA) is the nation's largest state-owned electric utility, with 17 power plants and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines throughout New York State. NYPA is also heavily involved in promoting energy efficiency, new energy technologies and clean transportation. All have been top priorities for Eugene W. Zeltmann, who is retiring as NYPA's president and chief executive officer after nearly 8 1/2 years at the Authority. e-FFICIENCY NEWS interviewed Mr. Zeltmann as he prepared to step down from his post.