Long Island's water supply industry is one of the largest consumers of electric power. As a member of the Long Island Water Conference, the Plainview Water District has recognized the need to save both energy and money. Eighteen of the water conference's component water suppliers are reducing their electrical costs while also helping to conserve power; they recently came together as an energy cooperative group, registering in the NYISO Demand Response Programs in order to reduce electrical costs.

Plainview Water District Commissioner Kevin Langberg commented, "The Plainview Water District understands the importance of saving energy and we have always made an effort to do so. This cooperative allows us a greater opportunity to lower our energy expenses while we continue our role of providing an excellent quality and quantity of water to our community."

The NYISO program provides a successful method of reducing the cost of electrical power purchases for customers- the combined effort of the water suppliers will reduce their electrical usage by over 16,000 kilowatts with an estimated amount of $71,000. The programs call for participants to drop their electrical load from LIPA and switch to their existing emergency generator when requested by the NYISO, usually during peak electrical demand. The water suppliers will receive at least 21 hours of advanced notice to prepare their facilities so that their ability to continuously provide water will not be affected. In return for this commitment to save energy, the participating water suppliers are paid monthly capacity and energy payments. They will also be compensated for energy produced by generation equipment during NYISO declared emergencies. During the week of August 1, water suppliers reduced their electrical demand for three afternoons during the heat wave.

The Long Island Water Conference's participating water suppliers are the Bethpage Water District, Franklin Square Water District, Inc., Village of Garden City, Greenlawn Water District, Hicksville Water District, Jericho Water District, Locust Valley Water District, Manhasset-Lakeville Water District, Massapequa Water District, Old Westbury Water District, Oyster Bay Water District, Plainview Water District, Riverhead Water District, Roslyn Water District, South Farmingdale Water District, Suffolk County Water Authority, Town of Hempstead Water District and West Hempstead Water District. According to Long Island Water Conference Chairman Matthew Snyder, "Water suppliers on Long Island are constantly looking to reduce the cost of electrical purchases. The water suppliers participating in the NYISO, ICAP and SCR programs have taken a major step towards accomplishing this by joining this cooperative project. By joining together, we were able to increase our cost savings by over 80 percent. Not only are we saving our customers money, we are conserving another important resource."

The Long Island Water Conference's participation in these programs became effective on August 1, 2006. For more information visit www.liwc.org or call 378-3922.