NYISO Issues Misleading Report Undermining New York's Clean Energy Goals

ALBANY, NY (07/07/2025) (readMedia)-- A coalition of environmental advocacy organizations are sounding the alarm on misleading narratives and systemic failures by the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) that are inconsistent with the state's clean energy transition. In a new push to stop NYISO from distracting the state from its climate and renewable energy mandates, Earthjustice and other public advocates argue that NYISO's latest annual summary Power Trends report misleads the public and policymakers about the state's need for more fossil fuel generation.

Read the letter here.

The groups are calling on Governor Hochul, Public Service Commission Chair Rory Christian, Department of Environmental Commission Commissioner Amanda Lefton, and New York State Research and Development Authority President Doreen Harris to scrutinize NYISO's actions and narratives, and to push for and prioritize systemic reforms that will accelerate the transition to affordable, reliable, renewable energy.

In the letter, signatories emphasize that the summary Power Trends report does not present any new information or analysis to support the purported need for more dirty fossil fuel. None of the earlier NYISO reports on which it claims to rely concluded that fossil fuel generation is necessary for grid reliability or that repowering aging gas plants is beneficial. To the contrary, NYISO's own report highlights the growing unreliability of gas-fired power, noting aging plants are breaking down more often, have high costs and are not reliable for winter peak demands.

NYISO's summary report does not demonstrate that New York has a real reliability shortfall in the near term, even stating that a previously identified need "no longer exists".

In addition, Power Trends points to the potential impacts of new large loads on the grid like data centers, but multiple reports, and even the Public Service Commission, have emphasized that these demand projections are highly speculative. NYISO's push to build new gas plants based on uncertain projects is risky, unnecessary, and costly for New Yorkers, the letter argues.

Instead, the real threat to reliability and affordability comes from NYISO's delays and barriers to interconnecting new energy generation, and its continued delay in building out the transmission grid to meet New York's clean energy mandates under the state's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).

"By publishing this misleading summary Power Trends report, NYISO is standing in the way of the clean energy transition New Yorkers need and the law requires," said Rachel Spector, Deputy Managing Attorney for the Northeast Regional Office at Earthjustice. "NYISO's failure to prepare the grid for a clean energy future is putting our climate goals, our wallets, and our health at risk. We urge state leaders to take a hard look at NYISO's track record and misleading messaging - and to act swiftly to remove the barriers standing in the way of New York's clean energy progress."

"Now is the moment to double down on clean, affordable energy - not derail progress with distractions and delays. Clean energy is the cheapest, most reliable path forward to cut climate pollution and lower bills for New Yorkers, and NYISO should be speeding up its deployment, not sowing doubt. It's time for NYISO to get serious about meeting the state's climate goals and building the grid New York actually needs," said Justin Balik, VP for States, Evergreen Action.