Published: September 04, 2008 09:58 am         

NYRI hearing to be held in Oneonta

The Daily Star

The state Public Service Commission has deemed NYRI’s application complete and scheduled public hearings, including one in Oneonta in October, on the proposed 400,000-watt power line.

Introduced about 21/2 years ago by New York Regional Interconnect Inc., the proposed direct-current line would run about 190 miles, from Marcy in Oneida County to New Windsor in Orange County.

NYRI first suggested running the 10-story-tall line through Chenango and Delaware counties, following rights-of-way owned by NYSEG and the New York Susquehanna & Western Railway for much of the route. Last year, at the PSC’s request, the firm studied other routes, including some that would cut through parts of Otsego County.

David Kalson, a NYRI spokesman, said if the project is approved, the final route will be determined by the PSC.

``Essentially, NYRI wants to run the line from point A to point B, and it’s up to the PSC to determine where it will be built,’’ he said.

In May 2006, the firm filed an application to construct the line, but the PSC determined this document was incomplete. Subsequent filings were made, and the application continued to be incomplete.

But last week, state regulators said the proposal is ready to be evaluated. Kalson said this week’s determination is a ``turning point. All NYRI is asking is for the project to be considered fairly.’’

In its application, the company says its overhead transmission line is needed to improve the flow of electricity to the New York City area, particularly at times of high demand. It has acknowledged the project will drive up the cost of wholesale electricity in upstate New York.

Along its proposed route, the firm and its project have been sharply criticized, with thousands of residents condemning it as unnecessary as well as a threat to health and property values.

Last Thursday, Chris Rossi, co-chairwoman of Stop NYRI, an anti-NYRI advocacy group, said opponents are ready for the PSC to start the formal review.

``In a way, we should be thankful the company is so inept it couldn’t even produce a completed application for more than two years,’’ she said. ``This has given us time to plan, and now we want to have as many people as possible come to the hearings.’’

In the last two years, NYRI’s proponents have tried to link the project to the development of wind power in the state, she said, ``but that’s a false connection. Most of the wind farms would not be on the path of this line and don’t require anything like this massive project.’’

Rossi said NYRI represents ``old technology.’’ Rather than run an industrial line along the rural landscape of upstate New York, utilities should rewire existing lines with modern cable to carry more current, she said.

``This project exists for one reason,’’ she said. ``To make money for its investors, at our expense.’’

Under the guidelines of the 2005 federal Energy Policy Act, the PSC has a year to evaluate the project. If the state doesn’t give it a green light by then, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission can override the PSC and allow construction to begin. That act also allows for conferring eminent domain powers on private firms building power lines.

Rossi said opponents are hopeful that a change in the federal administration might lessen the chances of an override by FERC. She also noted that Rep. Michael Arcuri, DUtica, has opposed the project.

)The public information meeting and public statement hearing in Oneonta will be held Oct. 21 at the Craven Lounge, Morris Hall, at the State University College at Oneonta.

The meeting will begin at 1 p.m. and people will be allowed to voice their opinions beginning an hour later. A similar meeting and hearing in Utica will be held the next day. A third set of meetings and hearings will be announced later, according to an e-mail from the PSC.

People requiring special accommodations for the hearings should notify the PSC by calling (518) 474- 2520.