NEW YORK: Hot Weather Triggers Load Reduction Program—Extreme early summer heat prompted the Power Authority to activate its Peak Load Management (PLM) program to help reduce New York City's power use during hours of greatest demand. The action cut more than 50,000 kilowatts from the city's consumption, equal to the output of a small power plant. NYPA customers—among them the City of New York, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the city and state universities of New York and Salomon Smith Barney—receive $40 for each kilowatt of electricity they commit to save when called on during the high-demand June-September period. Participants typically turn off or reduce non-essential lighting, adjust air conditioning settings and use their own on-site generators. NYPA has also enlisted its customers elsewhere in the state to commit to more than 360,000 kilowatts of energy reductions under separate contract arrangements, as part of statewide efforts to reduce peak summer demand for electricity.

LAKE PLACID: NYPA Treats Fresh Air Kids to Olympic Day—The Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) and the Power Authority played host to some 25 Fresh Air Kids at an Olympic Day conducted here by ORDA on July 12. The youngsters, from various inner cities in New York, and their host families rode the Cloudsplitter gondola to the top of Little Whiteface Mountain, viewed the rich history of the Olympic Games and Lake Placid at the Winter Olympics Museum, took a chairlift to the top of the 120-meter ski jump and viewed ESPN Great Outdoor Games events at the Olympic Speed Skating Oval. For the past three years, NYPA has covered all costs associated with annual visits to the Olympics site arranged by the non-profit Fresh Air Fund. The Power Authority provides low-cost electricity to the Village of Lake Placid and has partnered with ORDA in energy-efficiency initiatives.

BRONX: NYPA Donates Refurbished Computers to Schools—Gov. George E. Pataki announced on July 11 that the Power Authority will provide surplus computer equipment to several schools in the Bronx as part of its program to make refurbished computers available to schools statewide. NYPA is ready to deliver 20 computers each to P.S. 18 and the Family Life Academy Charter School. The Power Authority utilizes about 1,700 computers in its normal operations and replaces about 400 to 500 computers each year. The surplus equipment is thoroughly cleaned and provided with a minimum of 64 megabytes of memory. The computers have been tested with a new operating system, and any missing or broken parts have been replaced. The Power Authority previously delivered 30 refurbished computers to Niagara Falls public schools.

MASSENA: Power Authority Employees Join Wild Goose 'Chase'—Staff members of NYPA's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project on July 2 assisted the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in its annual roundup of Canada geese on the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area. In a carefully orchestrated process led by members of the Massena Rod and Gun Club, the volunteers herded more than a thousand waterfowl into fenced-in areas on Wilson Hill. Each bird was then examined for a numbered leg band used by the DEC for population monitoring. Geese not already assigned a number received a fresh band for future identification. In all, 1,163 Canada geese had their vital statistics noted; all were released unharmed back into the wildlife management area, which NYPA created during construction of the St. Lawrence-FDR project.

PEEKSKILL: NYPA-Sponsored Concert Opens Celebration 2002—The recording group Rockapella, celebrated for its renditions of popular songs without instrumental accompaniment, will perform at the opening night concert of Peekskill Celebration 2002, at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, in Riverfront Green Park, courtesy of the Power Authority. NYPA has been a major sponsor of Peekskill's annual summer festival since its inception six years ago. Throughout the weekend of Aug. 2-4, festival-goers will enjoy a variety of musical performances, wildlife displays, a juried arts-and-crafts show and a farmers' market. Special events on Saturday include a sailing regatta, a historical re-enactment with a replica of Henry Hudson's Half Moon, tours of the area's Underground Railroad sites, a Victorian ice cream social and, after sundown, a fireworks display. Free shuttle bus service will be available. For more information, visit www.peekskillcelebration.com.

NORTH BLENHEIM: Visitors Center Hosts Antique Autos—More than 275 antique autos were expected at the 31st Annual Schoharie Valley Antique Auto Show and Flea Market, to be held Sunday, July 21, on the grounds of the Power Authority's Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project visitors center here. The vehicles—all at least 25 years old—were to compete in 29 categories, with special awards for the best of show and the oldest car and sponsors' awards from NYPA and the Schoharie Valley Animal Shelter, which will benefit from the suggested $2 entry donation. In addition to the cars, the event was also scheduled to feature food vendors, dozens of flea market tables for collectors and bargain hunters, and DJs playing music from the '50s to the '70s.

UTICA: NYPA Sponsors Canoe Classic, Boilermaker Race— Thousands of contestants and spectators turned out for two big Central New York summer events here, the Erie Canal Canoe Classic and Utica Boilermaker Foot Race, the weekend of July 13 and 14. The Power Authority was the primary corporate sponsor of the Canoe Classic, on the 13th, and a co-sponsor of the foot race the next day. The canoe race, with five- and 15-mile distances, starting from Lock 20 on the canal, is one of the largest of its type in the East. The 15-kilometer foot race, which kicked off near the factory for which the race is named, saw over 12,000 runners compete. In addition to funding a fireworks display the night before the foot race, the Power Authority provided operational assistance and volunteers and had participants in both events.

In the Community: A NYPA electric vehicle and a Niagara Power Project display were on view at the Niagara County Pirate's Festival, Olcott Beach, July 13-15….Power Authority electric vehicles were showcased in parades marking Hartwick's centennial anniversary, July 13, and Cobleskill's 250th anniversary, July 6…. The Niagara Project visitors center played host to a meeting of hotel representatives affiliated with the Niagara Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau, Lewiston, July 12….The Power Authority awarded a $5,000 grant to the Utica Children's Museum of History, Natural History and Science at the museum's historic downtown building, July 10. The donation will help fund the replacement of the building's two furnaces and other energy efficiency improvements….Steve Ramsey, senior community relations representative, gave a presentation to the Cobleskill Rotary Club on community events at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project visitors center, July 10.…Scarsdale's Woodrow Crouch, NYPA's vice president, project management, was elected vice president of the United States Society on Dams at the organization's annual meeting and conference in San Diego last month. He will serve a one-year term.