New York Power Authority President: Critical Link Between Water and Energy

Richard Kessel, the president of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), the largest state-owned public utility in the country, recently wrote an op-ed declaring that saving water, "must be a top priority, both in its own right, and as a means to conserve energy." In addition to bringing attention to the water-energy connection, Kessel describes some of the programs currently underway in New York to reduce water and wastewater utility energy usage.

We all know that water and wastewater utilities consume large amounts of energy, but exactly how much is used at specific utility is usually unclear. According to Kessel:

"...Moreover, and these numbers are astounding, electricity payments make up from 25 to 40 percent of a typical wastewater treatment plant’s annual budget and 80 percent of the cost of processing and distributing drinking water."

Astounding indeed! To reduce water-related energy use and help New York meet its carbon reduction goals, NYPA has instituted a number of programs:

"This critical link between water and energy was on full display recently when I joined Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and leaders of the environmental community for an event at the county’s Bergen Point Wastewater Treatment Plant in West Babylon.

We were there in part to announce the completion of a $4 million New York Power Authority energy efficiency program that will cut the plant’s annual energy bill (and costs to taxpayers) by about 8 percent – or close to $390,000 – while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and use of oil at power plants. And, on a broader scale, we unveiled a major NYPA initiative to invest some $125 million over the next several years to cut electricity use by about 20 percent at wastewater treatment and water supply plants throughout New York state.

Because these facilities are huge power consumers, the new program should provide a big boost toward Gov. David A. Paterson’s “45 by 15” goal of meeting 45 percent of the state’s electricity needs through energy efficiency and clean, renewable resources by 2015."

It should be noted that these programs, while reducing water-related energy use, do not directly save water. It would have been preferable if water conservation, efficiency, reuse or low impact development strategies were an explicit part of NYPA's energy savings program. Not only do these types of programs provide significant energy savings, but they produce water quality and supply benefits that traditional energy conservation programs do not. While improving the operating efficiency of water supply and wastewater treatment is a great first step, NYPA's partnership with the water sector could remain, and perhaps become more effective if water and electric utilities began collaborating on water-saving programs that target the most energy-intensive uses of water.

Luckily, it seems like Kessel understands this logic:

"Another vital approach is to save water and thus reduce the amount that has to be treated at the wastewater and drinking water plants in the first place."

Let's just hope he does something about it.