{"id":371554,"date":"2026-10-13T02:08:28","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:08:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371554\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T02:08:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T02:08:28","slug":"yes-lets-build-the-grid-the-american-way-through-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/371554\/","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Let’s Build the Grid the American Way, Through Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Gavin J. Donohue | October 13, 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Utilities have made several important points about the state of America\u2019s grid. It\u2019s aging, and demands on it are increasing. Now is the time for action. On these issues, we are in full agreement.<\/p>\n

Where we differ is not regarding the problem, rather, how to solve it.<\/p>\n

As electric companies have correctly pointed out, the average transmission line in this country is more than 40 years old and was built for a different era. They are also correct that reshoring factories, expanding data centers, and electrifying households are placing new and growing demands on a system designed for a different century. New York cannot afford another decade of delays on the infrastructure projects it needs most.<\/p>\n

But if the goal is to build faster, build smarter, and do so at a cost that New Yorkers can afford, the evidence favors competition, not expanding the monopolies that have often delivered projects late and over budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Building is a core American value, and so is competition. Real progress doesn\u2019t come from giving control to a single entity and expecting everyone else to trust the outcome. Progress comes from testing ideas and letting the best ideas prevail. Building and competing go hand in hand.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t a coincidence; it\u2019s a result of how the system is set up. When utilities build as monopolies, ratepayers, not shareholders, bear the financial risk of delays and overruns. There is little incentive to control costs because those overruns are usually passed on to customers. Competitive developers, by contrast, must stick to firm price commitments, service date guarantees, and face real financial risk for missed deadlines. New York\u2019s own experience with competitive generation proves this point.<\/p>\n

New York has already tested this model, and the results are clear. A 2025 analysis<\/a> by FTI Consulting found that independent power producers now supply about 75 percent of the state\u2019s electricity at costs roughly 35 percent lower than under the old monopoly model. That difference determines whether the energy transition is affordable for New York families, seniors on fixed incomes, and businesses competing nationwide and globally.<\/p>\n

We can agree that it\u2019s this generation\u2019s task is to modernize the grid. But building alone isn\u2019t enough. The difference between projects that deliver lasting value and those that leave ratepayers holding the bag is accountability. Projects succeed when builders face real consequences for missing deadlines or going over budget. They struggle when the risk is quietly shifted to those paying the bills. New York\u2019s real choice isn\u2019t whether to build, but who bears the risk when things go wrong.<\/p>\n

We share utilities\u2019 urgency and recognize that permitting delays, aging substations, and underinvestment in the grid threaten New York\u2019s economic competitiveness and reliability. However, New York doesn\u2019t need to give more control to the same monopolies that have repeatedly delivered late and over budget projects at ratepayer expense. Instead, New York should double down on the competitive framework that has already shown it can deliver the infrastructure New Yorkers need, on time, under budget, and at lower cost.<\/p>\n

They say America has never been afraid to build, and we agree. But America has also never been afraid to compete. That competitive instinct, more than any single company\u2019s ambition, has produced our best infrastructure. New York doesn\u2019t need a monopoly to build its future; it needs accountability. That\u2019s what competition provides.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get to it, together, the American way.<\/p>\n

Gavin J. Donohue, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Power Producers of New York, Inc. (IPPNY)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

*sponsored content*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Gavin J. Donohue | October 13, 2026 Utilities have made several important points about the state of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":371555,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-371554","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371554","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}