Res 1461-2017

By Council Members Espinal, Constantinides and Gentile Whereas, Superstorm Sandy hit New York on October 29, 2012 and its impacts were unprecedented in the City's history; and Whereas, Superstorm Sandy resulted in the deaths of 44 New Yorkers, caused $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity and impacted the City's infrastructure including its electricity generation and distribution system, which caused power outages to critical facilities including hospitals and nursing homes; and Whereas, Superstorm Sandy caused power outages across the City when electricity substations were flooded and overhead infrastructure, such as power lines and utility poles, were damaged or knocked down by strong winds and downed trees and tree branches; and Whereas, According to the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency, at least 140 miles of overhead power lines, 900 transformers and 1,100 poles were damaged during Superstorm Sandy, and as a result, two-thirds of the City's customers who were served by overhead infrastructure lost power at some point; and Whereas, By the time Superstorm Sandy had passed, more than 800,000 electricity customers - representing over 2,000,000 New Yorkers - were without power for periods that ranged from four days to two weeks; and Whereas, The New York City Panel on Climate Change projects that by the year 2050, in the City, extreme weather events are likely to worsen; heat waves are likely to increase in frequency, intensity, and duration; heavy downpours are likely to increase in frequency, intensity and duration; and coastal flooding is likely to increase in frequency, extent, and height; and Whereas, A microgrid is a relatively small power network, consisting of electricity generation sources, electricity users and control equipment within a geographically defined area; and Whereas, Microgrids are usually connected to a centralized electrical grid, but are able to disconnect from, and function independently of the centralized electrical grid; and Whereas, Communities that have microgrids installed can reduce their vulnerability to power outages due to extreme weather events, as microgrids enable communities to use local sources of power, decreasing their reliance on distantly-located power generation sources and long-distance electricity transmission via overhead and underground power lines; and Whereas, Microgrids enable communities to "island," meaning they can function and utilize locally generated electricity regardless of whether the larger, centralized electric grid is fully functional; and Whereas, State Assemblyman Marcos Crespo introduced a bill in the State Legislature, A.6134, which would require the New York Public Service Commission to develop recommendations regarding the establishment of microgrids in the State, including (a) whether microgrids should be established at hospitals, first responder headquarters, such as police and fire stations, emergency shelters, schools, water filtration plants, sewage treatment plants and other locations in the State; (b) the geographic areas in the State where the establishment of microgrids should be a priority, based upon severe storm damage during the two years prior to the effective date of this act; and (c) funding mechanisms that should be considered in order to pay for the establishment of microgrids; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.6134, legislation that would require the New York Public Service Commission to develop recommendations regarding the establishment of microgrids. BTM LS 10008 3/9/2017 4:52 pm 2