How Power Plant Listings Work Across New York State

New York has no single office that runs its power plants. Electricity here comes from private generators, the New York Power Authority (NYPA), village-owned electric systems, and factories or campuses that make their own power. The listings on this page cover all of those types, so the right contact depends on what kind of site you are looking at.

Some entries are major stations. The Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant on Lake Road in Oswego sits on Lake Ontario and anchors the Oswego County cluster. Others are small river plants, such as Beebee Island Hydro Plant on Mill Street in Watertown or Allens Falls on Covey Road in Potsdam.

A few entries are less obvious. The Bronx Zoo at 2300 Southern Blvd and Kodak Operations at Eastman Business Park on Lake Avenue in Rochester are filed under this category in our data. They are not public generating stations. Confirm what a listing actually is before you plan a visit.

That mix explains the uneven geography. Upstate counties with rivers and dams hold many small plants. Dense urban areas hold fewer, larger and more tightly controlled sites.

Which Agencies Govern Power Plants in New York

Several state and federal bodies each cover one slice of a plant's life. None of them offers walk-in service. Knowing who does what tells you where to send a question or complaint.

Large fossil-fuel plants of 25 megawatts or more are reviewed by the state Siting Board under Article 10 of the Public Service Law. Smaller projects usually answer to the local town or village planning board.

The 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act sets state targets of 70 percent renewable electricity by 2030 and a zero-emission grid by 2040. Those targets shape which plants are retired, repowered or added.

Upstate Plants: Hydro, Nuclear and Wind in the North Country

The North Country carries much of the state's hydro capacity, and the listings show it. St. Lawrence County has 46 entries, Lewis County has 27, and Jefferson County has 24. Fast rivers and old mill sites explain the pattern.

Around Potsdam and Colton, Allens Falls and the Erie Blvd Hydropower Colton Hydro Power Plant on County Road 24 work the Raquette River. In Gouverneur, the Hailesboro 4 Plant sits on Mill Street. In Lewis County, Effley on Effley Falls Road in Croghan and Moose River on Lyonsdale Road in Lyons Falls are working hydro sites. The county is also home to the Maple Ridge wind farm.

In Jefferson County, Beebee Island Hydro Plant sits on the Black River near downtown Watertown. Carthage Energy is on West End Avenue in Carthage. Chateaugay High Falls Hydro, on Pulp Mill Road, is the Franklin County entry. Farther south, Inghams on Power House Road in Little Falls is in Herkimer County. Middle Falls Hydro in Greenwich is in Washington County. Brookfield Power's Glen Falls Hydro Power Plant on Glen Street in Glens Falls is in Warren County.

Wind appears too. Noble Bellmont Windpark on Ryan Road in Churubusco is in Clinton County, and Black Oak Wind Farm is listed under Ithaca in Tompkins County. On Lake Ontario, Fitzpatrick is a single large reactor, and the Granby plant in Fulton uses the Oswego River.

Most small hydro plants are run remotely, with locked gates and no front desk. If you want to fish, paddle or take photos near one, remember that flows and water levels can change without warning. Stay out of posted areas near intakes, spillways and tailraces. Many FERC licences require some public recreation access, such as a boat launch or fishing spot, so ask the operator what is open.

Downstate Plants in New York City and Long Island

Downstate, plants sit inside neighbourhoods rather than beside rivers in the woods. Brooklyn's Joseph J Seymour Power Project is at 23rd Street and 3rd Avenue. In Queens, the Charles Poletti Power Project and 500 MW Power Plant is on 20th Avenue in Astoria, and Far Rockaway has a site on Bay 24th Street. The Bronx has Hell Gate on East 134th Street. Because status can change, call before assuming a site is still generating.

Many of these are peaking units that start up on the hottest days, when demand is highest. New York City is NYISO Zone J and Long Island is Zone K, and both are constrained by limited transmission. State rules have tightened emissions limits on older simple-cycle peaking turbines, which is why some units have been retired or modified.

On Long Island, Suffolk County leads the state with 54 listings. They include Richard M Flynn on Union Avenue in Holtsville, the Keyspan Wading River GT Facility on North Country Road in Shoreham, and Greenport on Moores Lane. Greenport has long run its own village electric department. Shoreham is also where the Shoreham nuclear plant was built. It never entered commercial service and was sold to the Long Island Power Authority for one dollar in 1992.

The Long Island Power Authority owns the island's grid. PSEG Long Island operates it under contract. In New York City, Con Edison delivers power, and generation is owned by separate companies.

Finding the Right Contact for a New York Power Plant

Start with the county and address in the listing, then work through the steps below.

Give the operator the exact address, the date and a short description. That gets a faster response than a general complaint.

Power plant facilities in New York include a mix of federal, state, and municipally owned generation assets that contribute to the region's overall electricity supply. New York's energy mix and the number of publicly owned facilities reflect the state's natural resources, regulatory environment, and historical development of its utility infrastructure.

Power Plant locations are available in 282 cities across New York. They are spread across 57 counties.

Areas with the highest concentration of power plant locations include New York, Rochester, Oswego, often reflecting proximity to water resources, fuel supply infrastructure, or industrial demand centers.

Residents of New York who are customers of a municipal or public power utility can contact their local power authority for billing assistance, energy efficiency programs, and information about planned outages or infrastructure upgrades in their service area.

Power Plant by Counties

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Residents of New York who receive electricity service from a publicly owned utility can visit or contact that utility's customer service office to learn about outage reporting, billing options, and energy assistance programs. For information about a specific power generation facility in New York, contacting the state's public utility commission is often the best starting point.

Browse Power Plant by county across New York to find the nearest location.

Before You Contact a Power Plant in New York

Most people looking up a power plant in New York want one of four things. They want to know who owns a site near them, to raise a concern about noise, traffic or emissions, to check whether a site is open to visitors, or to confirm an address for work or a delivery. The answer starts with the type of site.

Nuclear and large gas stations are secure facilities. You will not be able to walk in, and security staff will turn away unannounced visitors. Contact the operator's community relations office instead. Small hydro stations are usually unstaffed, so a phone call or the operator's website is the practical route. Municipal and campus plants, such as those in some villages or at large institutions, are best reached through the village hall or the institution's facilities office.

For environmental concerns, the DEC regional office covering your county is the body with permit authority. For billing and service, the Department of Public Service handles complaints about regulated utilities. Local planning boards decide most small-project zoning questions, and they hold public hearings you can attend. Note the county on each listing, because Oswego, Suffolk and St. Lawrence counties each have different local boards and different regional DEC offices.

New York Power Plant FAQs

Several bodies share the job. The Public Service Commission regulates electric utilities, and its staff in the Department of Public Service handle consumer complaints. The Department of Environmental Conservation issues air and wastewater permits. NYISO, based in Rensselaer, runs the grid and wholesale market. At the federal level, FERC licenses many hydro dams, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission oversees reactors such as Fitzpatrick in Oswego. Large renewable projects of 25 megawatts or more go through the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, while large fossil plants follow Article 10 of the Public Service Law. Village-run systems answer to their own boards.

Not on a drop-in basis. The plant at 268 Lake Road is an NRC-licensed site with controlled access, and unannounced visitors will be turned away at the gate. If you want to learn more, contact the operator's community relations office to ask about information sessions or school programs. People who live within the plant's emergency planning zone receive preparedness information from the operator and from Oswego County. Check that material for evacuation routes and notification procedures. The plant's neighbour, Nine Mile Point, is treated the same way for security purposes.

Geography is the main reason. The Raquette, Oswegatchie, Black and Moose rivers drop quickly through the North Country, and mill towns built dams on them long before the grid existed. Many of those sites were later converted to small hydro plants, and each plant is counted separately. That is how Potsdam, Colton, Croghan and Lyons Falls each carry several entries. Lewis County also hosts large wind projects on its open upland ground. Counting every small station, rather than one big plant, pushes these counties near the top of the list.

Call your electric utility, not the plant. In New York City and Westchester that is usually Con Edison. On Long Island it is PSEG Long Island. Upstate, depending on your town, it may be National Grid, NYSEG, Rochester Gas and Electric, Central Hudson or Orange and Rockland. Some villages, such as Greenport, run their own municipal systems. Your bill shows which company serves you. For downed wires, sparking equipment or any danger to life, call 911 first. If a utility does not resolve a service problem, the Department of Public Service helpline at 800-342-3377 can take your complaint.

Older gas and oil units in the city have faced the most pressure. State rules have tightened nitrogen oxide limits for simple-cycle peaking turbines, and the 2019 climate law targets a zero-emission grid by 2040. Several downstate units have been retired, converted or limited in how often they run. Indian Point in Westchester County shut its last reactor in April 2021, which shifted more reliance onto other sources. If you live near a site such as the Astoria entry in Queens County, ask the operator for its current status, since some listings may describe plants that no longer run.

Directory data is compiled from public records and category tags, so a few entries are large institutions or industrial campuses rather than public generating stations. The Bronx Zoo at 2300 Southern Blvd and Kodak Operations at Eastman Business Park in Rochester are examples. To check any listing, call the number shown, such as 718-220-5100 for the zoo, and ask what the facility does. If no number is given, contact the town or village clerk in the listing's county. Ask whether the site generates power, whether it sells to the grid and whether the public has any access.