Power line company to complete application

New study cites project’s downsides

By FRITZ MAYER

MONTICELLO, NY — The company that wants to build a 190-mile power line through nine counties in New York State is about to take the next step in the process. According to a legal advertisement placed in The River Reporter and other newspapers, New York Regional Interconnection (NYRI) will file a supplemental application with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) on February 22. The ad can be seen on page 18.

The submission includes a new study that considers a route for the power line that would run largely parallel with the existing Marcy South lines that run through the center of Sullivan County. The study also includes some 16 alternatives for segments of the route.

NYRI first applied to the PSC to build the line in May 2006. The PSC determined that the application was incomplete at the time, and told the company that it needed to undertake various studies before the application could be deemed complete. Once the PSC has what it considers to be a complete application, the clock starts ticking on the one-year period for the PSC to either approve or deny the application. After that, NYRI may be able to obtain the necessary permits from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to complete the project.

In the meantime, a report by the General Accountability Office (GAO) released on February 1, highlighted some disadvantages of the project. The report said the line may diminish the economic or aesthetic value of nearby land, it may raise electricity prices in upstate counties and it may reduce incentives to identify alternatives that would decrease electricity use.

In response, Congressman Maurice Hinchey released a statement saying, “This independent GAO report further demonstrates that NYRI’s plan to construct a 190-mile high-voltage power line through upstate New York is a bad idea environmentally, economically, as well as for the region’s security even when sited along existing transportation rights-of-way,” said Hinchey. “New York certainly has its energy needs, but constructing another power line is a 20th century solution for a 21st century problem.”