As the largest state-owned public utility in America, in one of the most progressive states in the country, the New York Power Authority doesn’t have the option of taking a “wait and see” approach on cleantech.
Plus, NYPA’s business model enables it to invest in and deploy new technologies in bold ways, according to President and CEO Gil Quiniones.
New York’s investor-owned utilities are also deploying innovative technologies. But NYPA can generally take more risks and move faster because it doesn’t have to go through the Public Service Commission’s regulatory process.
“We tend to be able to be the first mover and the first tester of new initiatives,” Quiniones said.
GTM spoke with Quiniones last week for an update on NYPA’s 2020 strategic plan, ahead of his keynote interview with Shayle Kann, senior vice president at Energy Impact Partners, at the Grid Edge Innovation Summit taking place June 20-21 in San Francisco.
One of Quiniones’ top priorities is rolling out NYPA’s major new investment in EV infrastructure.
Last month, the public utility announced up to $250 million for EV-related investments over the next seven years. NYPA’s board of trustees has already approved $40 million for specific investments between now and the end of 2019, including around 200 DC fast chargers along major thoroughfares, the installation of EV chargers at New York’s JFK and LaGuardia airports, and the establishment of “model communities” to test various customer engagement programs.
“NYPA is interesting because we serve 47 municipal utilities and four cooperatives (these are small distribution utilities owned by cities or towns). So we will pick two or three to…test various customer engagement strategies to see what sticks in terms of promoting adoption for electric vehicles,” said Quiniones.
How NYPA will spend the remaining $210 million to be deployed by 2025 has yet to be determined. That decision will depend a lot on lessons learned from the first phase of the program, Quiniones said.
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