AN ONGOING CASE STUDY OF AN ADVANCED INTERVAL METERING AND REAL TIME ELECTRICITY PURCHASING PILOT PROJECT IN NEW YORK CITY

摘要

This article addresses the practical and legal considerations relating to installing advanced interval meters (principal and sub-meters) in multi-family apartment buildings. These considerations are presented in the context of a specific pilot project in a cooperative apartment building in which the author, Peter Funk, resides. He is an energy attorney and served as the President of the cooperative apartment building during the initiation of this project. The project includes installing advanced interval metering for each apartment. These installations, together with telephonic connections with the local distribution company, enable the apartment building to purchase power on a real time basis (in a deregulated environment) and, if possible, sell aggregated demand reduction to the New York Independent System Operator NYISO (during critical power supply periods). The cooperative has developed successive an internal rate structure to reflect real time price (RTP) procurement and thereby encourage residents to move usage to low cost periods thus reducing demand at peak times and lowering residents' energy costs. The building has also implemented a program to educate the residents in the expectation that they will take advantage of load elasticity to reduce peak period demand and that providing energy cost signals will inspire energy conservation. Since this is an innovative and much needed type of demand reduction installation in New York City (in light of continuing supply problems and transmission constraints), the author participated in arrangements for it to become a pilot project that has obtained financial incentives from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and encouragement from the New York Public Service Commission (PSC). Since, however, it is occurring post-deregulation but in the context of certain pre-deregulation regulations, the project has encountered local and state regulatory issues. This project promises to encourage widespread multifamily building load management projects as results are documented and information disseminated. This article addresses the practical and legal considerations relating to installing advanced interval meters (principal and sub-meters) in multi-family apartment buildings. These considerations are presented in the context of a specific pilot project in a cooperative apartment building in which the author, Peter Funk, resides. He is an energy attorney and served as the President of the cooperative apartment building during the initiation of this project.