national grid is giving serious consideration to repowering three of Long Island’s biggest electric-generating plants at Northport, Port Jefferson, and Island Park. The company says it is acting now because the state outlook for chiefly gas-fired units has changed and internal modeling indicates new units on the same sites could run more efficiently at lower cost. The potential shift lands amid a broader debate over reliability, wholesale prices, emissions, and how fast the region should move toward an emission-free grid.
National Grid models upgrades for Northport, Port Jefferson, Island Park
In an interview Wednesday, Will Hazelip, president of National Grid Ventures, said the company is in the early stages of modeling the costs, impacts, and overall feasibility of upgrading the three power stations, which it owns and operates under contract to the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). Hazelip described a concept focused on replacing half-century-old plants with the newest, most efficient power generators available, and said unit capacity could even be increased.
Hazelip said early modeling scenarios examine replacing old steam-generating plants with more modern technology such as combined-cycle units. He said those units burn considerably less fuel and produce power more efficiently, while using considerably less water for cooling.
Hazelip also said the modeling indicates repowered units could produce wholesale power at lower cost. “We’d be able to produce more megawatt-hours at lower costs, ” he said, adding that the change would bring wholesale electric prices down, have a net positive impact on customer bills, and increase reliability.
Officials, planners, and advocates split on costs, emissions, and future commitment
Supporters frame repowering as a practical response to today’s market and policy conditions. Michael Kaufman, vice chairman of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, called the concept “an excellent idea, ” saying it should have been done years ago due to fuel efficiency. He said repowering would be an advantage in efficiency, lower fuel costs, and energy security on Long Island, and added that it could also address tax-base concerns for communities where the plants are located.
Hazelip argued that converting from old steam-generating plants would sharply reduce emissions, particularly when facilities run on natural gas, while noting that state regulators would likely continue to require fuel-oil backup at the plants.
Opponents warn the approach could deepen dependence on fossil generation. Peter Gollon, a former LIPA trustee and a green energy advocate for the Sierra Club, said repowering major plants would commit LIPA to a fossil fuel future and volatile energy pricing—an outcome he opposes.
Quick context: why the repowering idea is back
The plan, if pursued, would revive a concept LIPA studied for decades but ultimately decided against after 2017 studies, when the utility projected power-use reductions and an influx of renewables onto the grid. The outlook has shifted as some major renewable projects, including offshore wind farm arrays, have been stalled or withdrawn following opposition from the Trump administration, while New York State has taken an “all-of-the-above” energy approach that calls for tapping the brakes on fossil fuel plant retirements.
What’s next for national grid and LIPA decision-making
Hazelip emphasized the company remains in early-stage modeling and is still assessing feasibility, costs, and impacts before any definitive path forward is set. The debate is expected to intensify as environmental groups press Gov. Kathy Hochul to maintain New York’s aggressive targets for an emission-free grid by 2040, even as reliability and price pressures keep legacy generation on the table. For now, the next signals will come from the ongoing modeling work and how LIPA and state regulators respond if national grid moves from analysis toward a formal repowering proposal.
