US House votes to block New York capacity zone

Market: Electricity
15/07/14

The US House of Representatives has passed a measure that aims to block a new capacity zone in southern New York state by preventing energy regulators from using federal funds on its implementation.

It remains unclear what effect the measure could have on the new capacity zone that incorporates the lower Hudson valley and New York City because the program already took effect in May. Federal energy regulators endorsed the creation of the zone, which is relevant only for forward capacity markets.

The zone created requirements for more capacity in the lower Hudson valley and is being implemented by the New York Independent System Operator, which manages the state's electricity grid. But it has drawn protests over concerns that it will force customers in the affected areas to pay $230mn/yr in higher electricity bills.

Representatives Sean Maloney (D-New York) and Chris Gibson (R-New York) offered the rider addressing the capacity zone as an amendment to the fiscal 2015 energy appropriations bill, and it passed by a voice vote on 10 July. The bill passed the House the next day. The 2015 fiscal year starts on 1 October.

The amendment would block the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) from using funds granted under the appropriations bill to implement, administer or enforce an order issued last year approving the new capacity zone.

With the capacity zone already in effect and being used in capacity auctions, it is unclear how the funding prohibition would achieve the intended effect of blocking the capacity zone. FERC earlier this year denied a request for a rehearing related to the new capacity zone.

New York City remains the higher-priced market in daily trading. Manhattan zone forward assessments retain their premium to the lower Hudson valley market through 2016.

Maloney's deputy chief of staff Stephanie Formas noted that there is ongoing litigation against FERC related to its approval of the capacity zone but did not respond to questions about how the bill would stop the capacity zone.

The New York grid operator declined to comment on how the amendment could affect the zone but said it would provide an investment signal to retain existing resources and promote the development of new energy projects in the region.

The grid operator proposed the capacity zone merger in 2013 out of concern for falling generation capacity near major demand centers in New York City and neighboring counties. But the operator later asked for a delay, apparently responding to pressure from local, state and federal politicians.

FERC did not respond to requests for comment.

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Houston, 1 May (Argus) — US manufacturing activity grew in April for a fourth consecutive month, as order growth outpaced production and the Mideast Gulf war boosted prices. The Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) purchasing managers index (PMI) came in at 52.7 in April, unchanged from March and growing for a fourth month following 10 months of contraction. The new orders index rose to 54.1 in April from 53.5 in March, while the production index eased to 53.4 in April from 55.1 the prior month, reflecting slowing growth. Readings above 50 signal growth while readings below that level signal contraction. The prices index surged to 84.6 in April, the highest reading since April 2022, from 78.3 the prior month and is up 25.6 percentage points in the last three months. The gains were driven by increases in steel and aluminum prices, tariffs, and "now increases in petroleum-based products as a result of Middle East conflict," ISM said. The new export orders index fell to 47.9 in April from 49.9 the prior month, showing deepening contraction. The imports index eased to 50.3 in April from 52.6, showing slowing growth. "Demand for manufactured goods is trending higher versus last year; however geopolitical uncertainty and rising oil and diesel prices continue to weigh on demand," a transportation equipment manufacturer wrote in a response to the ISM's monthly survey of purchasing managers and supply executives from 18 manufacturing industries. A machinery executive cited "general uncertainty" over the impact of the war but awareness that the impacts of fuel increases "are coming." Others cited the effects of "US tariffs." The employment index fell to 46.4 in April, showing deepening contraction, from 48.7 the prior month. "In this second month of the Iran war ..., 31 percent of the comments were positive and 69 percent negative," ISM said. "Among comments, the war was mentioned in 47 percent and tariffs in 18 percent." The supplier delivery index rose to 60.6 in April from 58.9, showing slower deliveries for a fifth month, while the inventory index rose to 49, showing slowing contraction, from 47.1 the prior month. By Bob Willis Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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30/04/26

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London, 30 April (Argus) — Power consumption in the German chemical manufacturing sector has fallen sharply over the past decade and could continue to decline in the coming years unless structural reforms are implemented quickly, chemical industry association VCI executive director for sustainability, energy and climate policy Matthias Belitz told Argus . Power consumption in the manufacturing of chemical products totalled 42.79TWh in 2024, according to the latest data from statistical office Destatis, making up more than 9pc of total electricity consumption. But consumption in the sector has dropped by nearly 20pc on 2014-18 levels, and in 2024 was the second lowest for any year since at least 2008, only behind 2023 ( see consumption chart ). A fall in overall chemical production has been a key driver in the power consumption decline, Belitz said. Chemical production fell by 3.3pc on the year in 2025 and was down by about 21pc on 2021, VCI figures show ( see production chart ). 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30/04/26

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30/04/26

Q&A: Crisis adds impetus to diversify from oil and gas

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It was given the power to be the aggregator of natural gas demand from the Singapore-based power generation companies. The reasons why we formed Gasco was to make sure that nationally, we have diversity of supply, and that we procure enough supply of natural gas to meet all of Singapore's needs. So when the crisis unfolded, GasCo had already been operational, and they were able to, on behalf of the generation companies, aggregate the demand and go up to the market and engage various LNG suppliers on potential supply contracts. That has been proven to be useful: we have been able to get many offers from gas suppliers, and it has not been a problem to be able to get more gas. And as I'm in Australia right now, I have to say it's great that Australia has been a very reliable supplier of gas to Singapore. In fact, some of that replacement gas is likely to come from Australia. Is that alternative supply from Australia coming through GasCo? GasCo will reach out to all potential gas suppliers and will compare various factors like cost, supply reliability and timing. They look at all potential sources, even from North America and Africa. Having considered all these factors, they picked up a few suppliers that happen to come from Australia. How can Singapore and other Asia-Pacific countries ensure energy security despite their import dependence? In Singapore's case, ensuring energy security is particularly important but also especially difficult. We are a small city state. We don't have local supply — all our oil and gas are imported from different parts of the world — and therefore our dependency of energy imports is much greater than many countries. The key lesson for us is that you must make sure that you have diversified sources of natural gas that will help to cushion the impact of loss of any one source. You need to be able to find replacement supplies quite quickly. 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In terms of impacts on electricity imports and exports, I think the crisis has actually helped countries to see that everybody should contribute to diversify away from our reliance on oil and gas. Linking the various grids in southeast Asia together is important because they will allow investments into renewable energy to flow. Southeast Asia is a big region. There's plenty of renewable energy resources — solar, hydropower and wind power. The limitation is that where the resources are located and where the demand is can be quite far apart, and therefore investments needed to be put in place to make it happen — both for power generation and transmission — are quite high. And any cross-jurisdiction energy projects will also involve rather complicated regulatory approvals needed from both the exporting country and the importing country. It can be overcome, but it's not easy. Talking about electricity, are there any updates from Singapore's side on Australian firm SunCable's project to export solar power to Singapore by 2035 ? For our electricity import projects, we have three important milestones. The first is the conditional approval, which proves that a project, based on the plans, is technically and potentially commercially feasible. Then we have the conditional licence, where they will need to show that they've made a significant progress in obtaining regulatory approvals from governments, and that they have a clearer sense of the technical requirements and cost estimates after doing more technical studies. The third phase is after they have put together all their plans, lined up all their financing and potential offtakers. This is when the import license can be given. SunCable's project is still at the first stage of this three-step process. It received conditional approval from the Energy Market Authority just under two years ago, in October 2024. Do you think this crisis might help accelerate that project? The project is certainly ambitious and challenging because of the great distance from Australia's Northern Territory to Singapore. The cable will have to pass through Indonesian territories as well to reach Singapore, and therefore the long distance will definitely meet technical challenges that they have to consider, as well as regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities. Those are the challenges, but at the same time, the project does have certain advantages compared to some of the nearer distance projects. Many of the electricity import projects from Indonesia or even Malaysia are mainly solar energy plants combined with batteries, but they more or less belong to the same climate zone as Singapore. So when we have the monsoon in Singapore, when it rains for maybe one week nonstop, it may also be raining one week nonstop in West Malaysia or in the Riau province of Indonesia. That means solar output is going to be quite low. But Australia is in a quite different climate. So when it's raining in Singapore it may still be sunshine all the way in the Northern Territory. And there is a good kind of diversification of our energy sources. Finally, could this crisis affect the energy transition to renewables because energy affordability might be prioritised over sustainability? I don't think so. In fact, I think the crisis has given much impetus to accelerate the energy transition. One is, of course, the huge increase in the cost of oil and gas. For example, in southeast Asia, many economies are still quite reliant on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking needs, and the conflict has resulted in a huge increase in the LPG price. Obviously, this has an impact on the livelihoods of the people living in southeast Asia. From just that one example, being able to shift away from a reliance on LPG to other methods of home cooking, such as electrification, is quite clearly one of the strategies that will make the region more resilient to external energy supply shocks. So I do think it has given an impetus to look at what we can do to diversify away from oil and gas and explore alternative energy, electrification and diversification as a strategy to enhance our resilience. By Juan Weik Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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Singapore's EMA to study geothermal energy systems

29/04/26

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29/04/26

Singapore's EMA to study geothermal energy systems

Singapore, 29 April (Argus) — Singaporean government agency the Energy Market Authority (EMA) will carry out a study to gauge whether geothermal energy systems can be deployed in the city-state, it said on 28 April. The agency will accept proposals from consultants for the feasibility study and expects the consultant to be appointed within 2026. Proposals should be submitted by 16:00 Singapore time (08:00 GMT) on 29 June. It is unlikely that the city-state has conventional geothermal energy sources, which are commonly found in geologically active regions, EMA said. But the country aims to study the feasibility of advanced geothermal technology that can tap on sub-surface heat for power, heating and cooling needs, EMA added. The move builds on EMA's 2024 study, which identified areas in Singapore where geothermal energy might be available. The country is looking to geothermal, nuclear and solar to improve energy resilience and widen its energy mix , which will comprise domestic sources and imports, the country's minister-in-charge of energy, Tan See Leng, said at Singapore International Energy Week in October 2025. Solar energy is Singapore's most viable option but will be able to meet only up to 10pc of the country's total projected electricity demand by 2050 given its land constraints, Tan said. Natural gas accounts for 95pc of Singapore's energy mix . Piped natural gas from neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia made up 43pc of the country's gas imports in 2025, with the remainder supplied as LNG from different parts of the world, EMA previously told Argus . The city-state received a total of 6.04mn t of LNG in 2025 , data from Global Trade Tracker (GTT) show, with nearly half of the volumes sourced from Qatar. But exporting supplies from the Middle Eastern country has become more challenging because of the de facto closure of the strait of Hormuz. Singapore is also turning to other energy sources to decarbonise its power sector, having pledged to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. By Hykel Quek Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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US House votes to block New York capacity zone

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