Energy debate continues as Con Ed cranks it up.

As the debate over the future of New York's energy supplies continues, Con Edison this week announced plans to spend $1.2 billion upgrading and reinforcing its electric delivery system.

The investments include the installation of 310 new transformers and substation-related projects to meet growing energy demand.

For the summer of 2006, the company forecasts a peak load of 13,400 megawatts for its service area, including 11,630 megawatts for New York City and 1,770 for Westchester County. One megawatt can power approximately 1,000 homes.

In the Con Edison service area of New York City and Westchester County, electric usage has grown by more than 20% over the past 10 years.

Last year, New York City issued 25 percent more building permits than the previous year. Nearly 5.5 million air conditioners are in use in Con Edison's service area and customers are expected to install an additional 850,000 units over the next five years.

In addition to population growth, power use is rising because customers are using more computers, printers, scanners, cell phone chargers and other equipment at home for personal or business use. The company estimates mat its customers used more than 4.1 million residential cell phones and 8.3 million TVs in 2005.

"Summer energy supplies are adequate to keep pace with this growing demand, but conserving energy every day is still the smartest way to manage your energy use and costs," said Marilyn Caselli, senior vice president of customer operations for Con Edison.

According to Mike Gordon, chairman of the energy asset management firm, ConsumerPowerline, escalating electricity demands in the city can be met without service interruptions and even without the reinstatement of Article X, the legislation which governs the construction of new power plants and the repowering of older ones which has been in limbo in Albany since it expired in January, 2003.

Gordon said existing technologies combined with improved conservation efforts could meet the demand for more power for the next five years should the current stalemate in Albany remain unresolved in the interim.

"I think if we were to do what needs to be done with respect to efficiency, cogeneration and to lease structure we will meet that challenge, independent of Article X," he said.

Gordon said that if building owners and residents took advantage of current tax incentives, green technologies and increased the use and efficiency of cogeneration efforts, between 2,500 to 3,000 mega watts of electricity could be created within the next four years.

The absence of agreement on Article X is due to partisan political differences on the generating capacity of new sites, according to Jerry Kremer, chairman of the New York Affordable Electric Alliance.

He expects that although lobbying efforts will continue, agreement on the issue will be not be reached until at least 2007.

That's long enough for the situation to deteriorate to a worrying state, according to Gil Quinones, senior vice president for the New York City Economic Development Corporation.

Quinones said that the although conservation efforts like green buildings, cogeneration and cash incentives from NYSERDA (New York State Energy and Development Authority) are an important source of energy, new power plants are critically needed.

While he agreed current capacity should suffice until 2012, Quinones pointed out that, because a new power plant can take five or six years to go online, it is in the city's and state's interest to expedite the reinstatement of Article X.

He also said that Article X is not the only energy issue facing the city and state: getting necessary funds to finance new power plants is another.

"We need to find a way to help power plant developers get financing because a lot of power plants are having a hard time getting financing," he said. Two power plants in Queens, which began construction before Article X expired, are not reaching maximum capacity due to a lack of funding opportunities, according to Quinones.