By Jim Ingram
FishersIsland Fund
October 1, 2025
A comprehensive analysis commissioned by the Fishers Island Fund reveals how a community microgrid proposed by Pickett Power (PP) could provide early additional energy resilience while the island’s electric utility, Fishers Island Electric Company (FIEC), implements a multi-year infrastructure modernization program. The analysis, developed by the Clean Coalition, shows that this privately-financed bridge solution could enhance grid reliability without burdening ratepayers during a critical transition period. View the slide presentation that analyzes multiple failure scenarios.
relevant to discussions about local energy infrastructure.
The Challenge: Aging Infrastructure Meets Growing Demand
Fishers Island Electric Corporation (FIEC) faces a unique set of challenges that distinguishes it from mainland utilities. As one of the smallest investor-owned utilities in New York State, serving just 771 customers across a 7-mile-long island and, importantly, only about 600 subscribers who ultimately bear the cost of their own consumption but also the electricity costs of commercial entities that are passed to their island customers, FIEC operates in an environment where every infrastructure decision carries outsized financial and operational implications.
The island’s electrical supply currently depends on aging undersea cables from Groton, Connecticut, both of which have exceeded their intended 30-year service life. This vulnerability was starkly illustrated during a July 2024 power outage when circuit breaker failures for the existing marine cable reminded residents of their precarious dependence on a single connection to the New England grid. Had the cable itself failed rather than just the switching equipment, the island would have faced months without power before the existing cable could be repaired or a new cable installed.
The seasonality of electricity demand on the island creates economic as well as technical challenges. FIEC’s peak demand fluctuates dramatically from 830 kilowatts in April to 2.5 megawatts in July. The utility must maintain infrastructure capable of handling summer peaks while generating revenue primarily during a few months of intense seasonal activity. With 84% of customers being residential and a year-round population of just 236 residents swelling to approximately 3,000 in summer, cost recovery becomes particularly challenging when major capital investments are required.
As a small utility, FIEC has a tiny rate base, the analysis notes. “FIEC has fewer resources to throw at itsproblems, and the cost of any modernization hits each residential rate payer harder.” This reality becomes more acute when considering that the Fishers Island Utility Company must simultaneously address urgent water system renovations and telecommunications infrastructure modernization while recruiting new senior leadership and operating with a volunteer board.
A Bridge Solution
The Pickett Power (PP) proposal is a near-term solution that offers the FIEC the ability to ease the burden on its staff and economic resources by extending the timeline of its modernization plan without compromising the reliability of electric service on the island. The bridge solution is not intended as an alternative to FIEC’s modernization program, but as a complement that kicks in earlier and continues to offer economic and resilience benefits after the installation of a new cable.
Technical Foundation and Integration Strategy
The proposal centers on a 990-kilowatt AC solar array to be constructed at the Pickett Landfill, coupled with a battery energy storage system (BESS) that would provide both storage capacity and microgrid management capabilities.
Click the image to enlarge.
suitable for microgrid integration on Fishers Island. Photo: Guy Parker
Resilience in the face of many failure scenarios
The analysis demonstrates that the proposed solar array, battery storage, and existing Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative (CMEEC) diesel generator would collectively meet the island’s peak load on an August afternoon if the larger, more recent 1989 cable failed and the Island had to fall back on the smaller, older 1967 cable. In the unlikely event of both cables failing simultaneously or if there were extended outages in the Groton grid or a disruption of the supply from the New England Independent System Operator (ISO), the solar array and battery could carry much of the island’s load for nine months of the year and could lower fuel costs and allow the generator to be serviced even during an outage in July or August. This redundancy addresses multiple failure scenarios while providing operational flexibility that single-source systems cannot match.
CM + 1967 Cable can support 99% of the full Fishers Island annual load.
Click the image to enlarge
Economic Analysis and Value Proposition
If the project can “start” between now and year-end allowing Pickett Power to claim ITC (Investment Tax Credit) benefits, Pickett Power has agreed to offer FIEC electricity at a fixed-price. Since the cost of electricity is widely expected to increase, a fixed price could allow FIEC to pass meaningful savings on to Fishers Island homeowners.
The battery storage system could yield additional savings to FIEC. Drawing from the battery during peak demand on afternoons in July and August could reduce FIEC’s peak demand charges, lowering overall energy costs. It also opens up the potential for new revenue by providing grid services to CMEEC and the New England ISO during periods of high regional demand.
Working collaboratively, FIEC and Pickett Power could reduce the up-front cost of new local generation…the solar farm… and storage…the BESS, lower energy costs through peak shaving, and create the possibility of additional revenue streams through the provision of grid services to CMEEC, Groton, and the New England ISO. Taken together, these could result in savings to every Island rate payer.
Implementation Strategy and Timeline Considerations
To minimize the impact on FIEC’s staff and resources, Pickett Power proposes to engage FIEC’s consulting engineers at its expense to scope the interconnection work necessary to connect the solar array to the FIEC grid.
long-term grid modernization and an early microgrid bridge solution.
Click the image to enlarge
A Path Forward
The Pickett Power microgrid proposal for Fishers Island represents more than a temporary fix for aging infrastructure – it offers a strategic approach to energy system evolution that recognizes both immediate needs and long-term goals. By providing enhanced resilience without burdening utility finances, the proposed solar array and battery storage system could serve as a bridge solution that maintains system reliability while FIEC pursues comprehensive grid modernization.
The analysis commissioned by the Fishers Island Fund demonstrates that community microgrids can serve as valuable complements to traditional utility infrastructure rather than replacements for regional grid connections. The proposal explicitly maintains support for connections to Groton, CMEEC, and the New England ISO while adding local generation and storage that can operate independently when needed. This balanced approach acknowledges both the benefits of grid interconnection and the realities of island utility operations.
The Fishers Island Fund is pleased to have been able to add this analysis to the conversation about the future of the Island’s infrastructure, and is encouraged by the willingness of the FIEC and Pickett Power to work together to explore the opportunity for incremental resilience and savings for Island ratepayers.
For the intrepid: The elements of an interconnection study. Here is a link to a list of references that substantiate the statements made in this article. Here is a brief primer on modeling a local electrical grid. If you want to dig into the use by CMEEC of the diesel generator to arbitrage peak rates…here’s the chart image in .Jpg, and in printable .pdf.
