ALBANY: Pataki Announces Election of Ciminelli to Head NYPA— Gov. George E. Pataki announced on April 30 that Louis Ciminelli, a prominent Western New York businessman, has been elected chairman of the Power Authority. NYPA's trustees selected Ciminelli from among their members to replace Joseph Seymour, who resigned the position on Jan. 3 to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Seymour remains a Power Authority trustee. Ciminelli was first appointed as a trustee by Governor Pataki in December 1995 and reappointed in January 2002. He was elected vice chairman in January 2001 and became acting chairman when Seymour resigned. Ciminelli is chairman and CEO of Louis P. Ciminelli Interests, Inc., the Buffalo-based umbrella organization for several businesses involved in the revitalization of the Niagara Frontier and Upstate New York. He is affiliated with many business organizations, including the Greater Buffalo Partnership, Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise, the Regional Advisory Board for the Empire State Development Corp., and the Young Presidents Organization.

WHITE PLAINS: Zeltmann, NYPA President, Also Named CEO— NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann was appointed chief executive officer by Power Authority trustees at a meeting here on April 30. Louis Ciminelli, who was elected as NYPA's chairman by his fellow trustees at the same meeting, and Zeltmann assumed responsibilities formerly held by Joseph Seymour, who resigned as chairman and chief executive officer on Jan. 3 to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Zeltmann was named NYPA's president and chief operating officer by the board of trustees in September 1997. At the Power Authority, he has been a strong advocate for expanded research, development and implementation of energy efficiency measures, and he has put particular emphasis on promoting workforce safety. A former deputy chairman of the state Public Service Commission, Zeltmann also had more than 20 years of international trade and government relations experience as an executive with the General Electric Company.

WATERTOWN: NYPA Studies Power Potential of Landfill Gas— The Power Authority is studying the feasibility of using methane gas from a landfill operated by the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) to produce low-cost electricity. NYPA initiated the study at the request of state Sen. Jim Wright (R,C,I-Watertown), chairman of the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee. Power Authority Chairman Louis Ciminelli cited an estimate that the landfill, near Rodman, about 15 miles south of here, could produce at least enough gas to generate three to six megawatts of electricity, meeting the needs of 3,000 to 6,000 homes. A methane collection system at the site currently produces about 850 standard cubic feet per minute (scfm). Ultimately, the landfill is expected to generate about 2,500 scfm. Since no large electrical users are nearby, DANC would seek to sell the electricity to a third party or parties. The Power Authority has indicated it would assist in the marketing of the power.

LIVERPOOL: NYPA President Cites Hydropower Relicensing Bill— NYPA President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Zeltmannn on April 30 called recent energy legislation passed by the U.S. Senate a "promising first step" toward reforming the federal hydroelectric relicensing process, but said more needs to be done. "The new bill would still allow federal agencies to set mandatory environmental conditions for new licenses, but would give applicants greater ability to meet those conditions in ways that would reduce effects on costs or power production," he said in a speech here at the semiannual meeting of the state's Municipal Electric Utilities Association (MEUA). Zeltmann noted that NYPA has a direct interest in the legislation and pending bills that would further reform the process, since it applied last October for a new federal license for its St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric project at Massena and is beginning the relicensing of its Niagara project near Niagara Falls. He urged the MEUA, whose member systems receive low-cost power from the Niagara project, to participate in the Niagara relicensing and to support efforts by NYPA, at Gov. George E. Pataki's direction, to promote economic development and energy efficiency in their service territories.

LEWISTON: NYPA-Sponsored Festival To 'Jazz-Up' WNY—
A major music festival sponsored by the Power Authority—the first annual Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival: A Salute to the American Spirit—will be held at various venues throughout this historic Niagara River community the weekend of Aug. 23-25, Gov. George E. Pataki has announced. "This new festival in the picturesque Village of Lewiston provides yet another great reason to visit the Niagara region this summer," he said. The festival, created by a partnership involving NYPA, the town and village of Lewiston, the Greater Lewiston Business and Professional Association and area businesses and attractions, will feature interactive fun at the Kids and Family Saturday at Artpark on Aug. 24, as well as food, beverage and entertainment booths to complement the weekend's musical offerings in the heart of the village. Also on Saturday, NYPA will sponsor a free concert by Gap Mangione, which will start at 7 p.m. in Academy Park and be followed by fireworks.

In the Community: The Power Authority has opened the fishing pier at the base of the Niagara Power Project's Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant, Lewiston, for public use from dawn to dusk each day. The pier, which can be reached from Hyde Park Boulevard, is handicapped-accessible, and parking is available….The Power Authority presented the Deerfield Fire Department with a check for $6,000 to help defray costs of an annual competition sponsored by the New York State Volunteer Firemen's Parade and Drill Team Captains' Association, May 8. The Deerfield unit will play host to this year's competition, Aug. 17-18….Teams of high school students competed in NYPA-sponsored envirothons at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project's visitors center, North Blenheim, May 9, and the Niagara project's visitors center, May 2. The Power Authority co-sponsored the North Adirondack Regional Envirothon at Paul Smith's College, Paul Smiths, May 7….The Niagara project's visitors center played host to a fund-raising auction to benefit the Niagara Street Elementary School, Niagara Falls, May 7….The Greater Buffalo Owners and Managers group attended a presentation on the Niagara project and toured its visitors center, May 4.…NYPA staff members demonstrated an electric vehicle to students at the Lincoln Titus School, Bedford, May 3.…Cathy Blood, senior community relations representative, was the keynote speaker at the NYPA-sponsored Tonawanda Junior High School science fair, which was renamed the Richard Catlin Arts, Science and Technology Fair in honor of the school's former principal, May 1....Sobeida Cruz, community relations manager, spoke to students at the Isaac Newton Middle School, New Rochelle, April 26, and P.S. 84, Queens, April 25, on careers in the electric utility industry.…Robert Dent, who retired in April as a senior engineer at the Charles Poletti Power Project, Astoria, has been named the executive director of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers' (IEEE) Power Engineering Society. The IEE is a non-profit, technical professional association of more than 377,000 individual members in 150 countries.