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The average cost of residential electricity in New York is 29 cents to 31 cents per kilowatt hour. The average in Chautauqua County is 22 cents to 24 cents per kilowatt hour.
In Pennsylvania, residential electricity costs 13 cents per kilowatt hour.
Why do New York residents pay so much more?
A recent article in The Post-Journal provided clues. It was titled "Blistering temps take toll on state grid." It cited the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) dashboard indicator regarding how electricity is made in NY.
It said total NY electricity produced by industrial wind is 4% with 3% produced by utility scale solar.
Mapscaping.com/new-york-wind-turbines-map/ shows there are 1,429 operating industrial wind turbines and Cleanview.co shows 726 utility scale solar facilities in New York State. The cost so far is between $55 billion and $79 billion.
That’s billions.
This does not count the destruction of forests, farmland, recreational land, wetlands or the impact on the economy as businesses flee New York. Nor does it account for the huge disposal costs for these material-intense, short-lived facilities.
So little electricity created yet so much money spent.
And now consider adding in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) - such as the proposed Dunkirk project - a $500 million investment they say.
Will the project benefit Dunkirk?
Not much.
There will be no jobs created after the initial construction stage using mostly out of town contractors.
The BESS won't pay the real property tax assessment. A Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT – tax break) may allot $1 million per year to the city. (The NRG Dunkirk power plant paid $10 million a year in taxes and employed many.)
The proposed Dunkirk BESS project will be located four blocks from the high school and a half mile from the hospital and SUNY Fredonia campus along the main transportation corridors.
Is it worth the risk when battery storage projects have a history of numerous catastrophic thermal runaway fires and explosions releasing highly flammable and toxic gases?
There are also concerns about environmental contamination from hazardous chemicals such as PFOS and PFAS during manufacturing and in case of fires and a lack of adequate engineering, regulatory standards, and disposal solutions.
The significant amounts of water needed to fight BESS fires may release hazardous chemicals, potentially contaminating the surrounding soil and groundwater as happened at the California Moss Landing BESS fire in 2025.
Other problems inherent in this unproven technology include the high costs of installation and maintenance, and the limited lifespan due to aging from charge-discharge cycles.
Only 70% – 75% of energy is recovered from the batteries - a 30% loss of electricity sucked up from the grid and "stored" until there is a shortage. During heavy demand periods electricity prices skyrocket and BESS operators make big profits while ratepayers pick up the tab. Homeowners living near BESS installations can expect their property values to drop and their home insurance costs to rise.
Regarding the state's bad energy policies, State Senator George Borrello says, "Rather than relying on massive problematic battery banks, the state should invest in cleaner, reliable energy using natural gas, hydropower and nuclear instead of shuttering functional, affordable, uninterrupted sources of power."
Who benefits?
Not the residents of Dunkirk.
Karen Engstrom lives in the town of Chautauqua