Powering Economic Development: Utility Leaders Weigh In
From left to right: Melissa Cobuzzi; Steph Raymond; Michelle O’Connell; Emilie Nelson; Moderated by: Conor Eckert, President and CEO of the Orange County Partnership
By John Jordan
MONTGOMERY, NY—Executives with the Mid-Hudson’s top utility companies and several notable industry leaders recently discussed the tremendous impact the surging energy demand is having on economic development transactions in the region.
The Alliance for Balanced Growth held a highly informative breakfast panel discussion entitled “The Power Behind the Project” on Aug. 12 at City Winery Hudson Valley in Montgomery. The panel featured: Steph Raymond, President and CEO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.; Michelle O’Connell, President and CEO of Orange & Rockland Utilities; Emilie Nelson, Executive Vice President and COO of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and Melissa Cobuzzi, President and CEO of M&R Energy Resources Corp. The moderator of the discussion was Conor Eckert, President and CEO of the Orange County Partnership.
The panel shared insights on the complex issues of grid reliability, energy infrastructure, affordability, sustainability and how energy in some cases is playing a dominant role in the success or failure of a development project in Orange County and the surrounding region.
OCP’s Eckert framed the significance of energy capacity and availability when he informed the crowd of 160 attendees that Orange County currently has between $2.5-billion to $3-billion in projects actively before municipal planning boards across the county that are advancing toward final votes and groundbreakings. He noted that securing sufficient and affordable energy is quickly becoming the number one factor in the development process, particularly when it comes to proposed high-tech ventures, such as data centers, advanced manufacturing facilities and life science and pharmaceutical projects.
O’Connell and Raymond each detailed the significant capital investments Orange & Rockland and Central Hudson have and plan to undertake in the future to increase energy capacity to deal with the significant demand in the region.
NYISO’s Nelson provided perspective on a statewide basis, saying that while there are capacity challenges at the moment, statewide utilities are undertaking substantial investments in maintaining their energy assets, but also in providing additional capacity for economic development opportunities.
O&R’s O’Connell noted that the utility is seeing significant development project proposals and the Hudson Valley is becoming an attractive location for projects that require large energy loads, such as data centers. To meet that demand, she noted that O&R has invested $2 billion in capital projects over the past 10 years and has plans to spend another $5 billion over the next decade.
A key issue for developers and end-users in terms of energy is affordability, she noted. “It is affecting customers across the board and in every sector,” O’Connell said. “So, really it is our job to balance the reliability with the investment and affordability because prices are going up…”
Central Hudson’s Raymond also said that in the utility’s market area, it normally sees approximately 2% growth. However, with the development projects in the pipeline, the utility could be dealing with the increased energy demands that calculate out to approximately 30% growth.
She also stressed the need to make energy affordable but noted that Central Hudson controls just 42% of a customer’s electric bill.
In terms of advice for developers, Raymond stressed that contacting the utility early in the process is key. “The quicker you can contact us (the better). If you are thinking about something, call your utility.” She said issues such as available energy capacity and the possible need for infrastructure development are critical so that proper planning and engineering can take place.
O&R’s O’Connell agreed noting that until a developer understands energy issues “you don’t have a complete picture.” She advised contacting O&R early so that the developer is not surprised late in the process what will be required to meet its energy needs.
Cobuzzi, a member of the Orange County Partnership Board of Directors, stressed that developers and or property owners need to investigate programs offered by NYSERDA, the utilities and others that can help pay for energy efficient equipment and provide avenues to reduce costs now and into the future.
“There are ways to mitigating and reducing your (energy) usage by being proactive,” Cobuzzi said.
She also advised that in some cases exploring the possible addition of solar power to a warehouse property’s roof may make sense. “Solar is starting to work. Solar is starting to make sense,” Cobuzzi said.
The sponsors of the ABG event were: ADG Architects, M&R Energy Resources Corp. and Rhinebeck Bank.
