LoHud: NY’s economic success depends on grid reliability | Opinion
February 24th, 2026
Justin Wilcox, Special to the USA TODAY Network
Feb. 23, 2026, Read online here.
New York’s bid to lead in artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing is colliding with a self-inflicted obstacle: restriction of the electricity supply required for economic expansion.
Investments in these sectors present meaningful economic opportunity, but that promise — and the jobs and capital that accompany it — is at risk without pragmatic changes to energy and infrastructure policy.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has made clear the importance of AI, semiconductors and other advanced sectors for New York’s future. But these power-intensive businesses cannot thrive without significant investment to modernize aging energy infrastructure and generation facilities. Without adequate electricity supply and supporting infrastructure, these companies and the opportunities they represent will set up shop elsewhere.
Inexplicably, rather than expanding energy supply, state policies have reduced it. From limiting new pipeline development to preventing the modernization of aging plants, the state is constraining energy supply while energy costs continue to rise.
The scale of this challenge is laid bare in the most recent grid reliability assessments, which reveal a staggering spike in power requirements. The interconnection queue for so-called “large load” projects more than doubled in the last year alone, exceeding 10,000 megawatts of new demand, according to the New York Independent System Operator, or NYISO, the non-profit that manages the state’s grid. For context, that’s the equivalent of powering at least 8 million homes.
We can reopen New York’s existing power plants
Fortunately, there is a pragmatic solution: repowering existing power plants.
Repowering extends the life of the facilities we already have, while making them cleaner, more efficient, and more productive. These upgrades can reduce customer costs over time, support environmental progress while helping to keep the lights on.
That’s a win for the grid, of course, but also for New York’s workforce. Upgrading these units will help create good-paying construction jobs while protecting the seasoned professionals who keep these facilities running. Additionally, by adding generation capacity, the grid becomes more reliable, and price peaks would be moderated, helping residential and business customers manage their energy bills.
The Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan is in the process of being decommissioned April 22, 2025. At far right are spent nuclear fuel rods in storage.
We need to make better use of the generating capacity we already have, as renewables and nuclear, which the governor says should be part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, could take years — even decades — to come online.
Time is of the essence. Big development projects are scaling up at a rate that matches the staggering speed of technology. The average project size jumped 63% this year — from 175 MW to 285 MW — a surge in demand roughly equivalent to powering every household in the entire city of Rochester.
Compounding this surge in demand, New York is losing electric capacity to retirement faster than it is adding new generation. NYISO’s Power Trends 2025 report shows that 4,315 megawatts of generation have left the system since 2019, while only 2,274 megawatts have been added.
This reliability gap threatens not only upstate’s economic prospects, but the future and security of businesses and communities statewide.
Are more energy capacity losses on the horizon in NY?
Current trends indicate that additional capacity losses are on the horizon. Nearly a quarter of the state’s fossil fuel generating facilities are nearing the end of their useful lives, and approximately 3,000 MW of New York’s existing conventional fossil-fuel generation is likely to be unavailable a decade from now.
While renewables must be a part of a diverse energy portfolio, it is clear from both the NYISO’s data and the recently approved State Energy Plan that we will continue to rely heavily on aging gas-fired generation facilities for some time.
However, before New York can modernize existing generation facilities, the state must address the 2040 zero emissions mandate which effectively prohibits additional investment in our aging fleet. Policy makers must address this barrier if we want to avoid the costs and unplanned outages that plague old facilities and lay the foundation for a thriving 21st century economy.
New York’s power plants are strategic assets and should be viewed as such. Our energy policy should seek to maximize their value while transitioning to lower emissions.
Failing to secure reliable power replacements is an economic gamble we can’t afford. It risks ceding the AI revolution to global competitors like China while leaving New York’s high-tech ambitions in the lurch — and with it, the economic hopes and dreams of millions of New Yorkers.
Justin Wilcox is executive director at Upstate United, a nonpartisan business and taxpayer advocacy coalition focused on growing the Upstate economy.