Danskammer plant must stay online, NYISO says to protect grid reliability

NYISO has told Danskammer Generating Station to stay online, making the Orange County plant part of a wider effort to keep New York’s electric system stable as older plants face retirement and demand keeps shifting higher.

In reports issued April 15, the New York Independent System Operator said Danskammer units 1 through 4 are under generator deactivation reliability review for the Lower Hudson Valley, or Zone G, over the five-year period from Jan. 15, 2026, through Jan. 15, 2031. The plant, a four-unit conventional steam electric facility with 532 megawatts of capacity, sits in Newburgh and is tied to the 115 kV system in Central Hudson Gas & Electric’s territory.

The decision followed Danskammer Energy’s Dec. 17, 2025 deactivation notice and a Jan. 14 letter to the state Public Service Commission saying the company intended to retire the plant at the beginning of HB 1 on Aug. 1, 2026 if no reliability need was found. NYISO’s finding blocks that exit for now and keeps a fossil-fuel plant in the middle of one of the Hudson Valley’s longest-running fights over power, pollution and climate policy.

NYISO said the reliability problem is not just about Danskammer. Its planning materials point to aging power plants, demand growth tied to electrification and large loads, delays in renewable and transmission projects, and more extreme-weather spikes in electricity use. The grid operator had already warned in a July 14, 2023 report that New York City could face a supply shortfall of as much as 446 megawatts on a 95-degree day, a reminder that reliability concerns reach far beyond Orange County.

The operator has also kept other plants online while waiting for bigger fixes. Its planning status report in February said the permanent solution for the New York City need is the 1,250-MW Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line, now expected to enter service in spring 2026. Until then, the Gowanus and Narrows units in Brooklyn and Upper New York Bay are being held through May 1, 2027, with a possible extension to May 1, 2029 if reliability issues continue.

For Orange County, the ruling keeps Danskammer running even as environmental groups, including Scenic Hudson, have argued the plant’s proposed repowering would worsen air quality and clash with New York’s 2019 climate law. Danskammer withdrew its air permit application for that expansion in June 2024, ending the repowering effort and leaving the existing plant in place as a peaking resource.