QUEENS: NYPA Receives Approval to Build Astoria Plant—
The state Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment on Oct. 1 approved the Power Authority's application to build a 500-megawatt combined-cycle power plant adjacent to NYPA's Charles Poletti Power Project in Astoria. The combined-cycle plant, fueled by natural gas and oil, will be one of the cleanest and most efficient generating facilities in New York City's history. The new plant will enable NYPA to continue to serve its governmental customers in the city, which save $500 million a year with the Authority's lower-cost power. The plant's construction, scheduled to start this fall, will permit the closing of the quarter-century-old Poletti project sometime after Feb. 1, 2008, under an agreement between NYPA and environmental groups, the City of New York and the Queens Borough President. The accord also limits the older plant's operation, starting next year, and provides an additional $50 million for local energy-efficiency and clean-energy projects.

WHITE PLAINS: Load Reduction Program Wins National Award— The Power Authority's program to reduce peak energy usage by its metropolitan New York City area customers has earned a national award from the Peak Load Management Alliance. At the alliance's fall conference in Annapolis, Md., on Oct. 7, NYPA's Peak Load Management (PLM) program won the 2002 Performance Recognition Award in the government entity category. NYPA customers participating in the PLM program receive $40 for each kilowatt of electricity they commit to save when called on during the high-demand months, from June through September. In the summer of 2002, NYPA activated the program 12 times, reducing customers' electricity use by a total of more than 50,000 kilowatts, as much as the output of a small power plant. The alliance, whose members include electricity suppliers, manufacturers and research groups, promotes the concept of reducing demand for electricity in response to pricing signals in the marketplace.

UTICA: Supplier Diversity Group Takes Show on the Road—Minority- and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) take note: After hosting a dozen purchasing exchanges for M/WBEs downstate, NYPA's Supplier Diversity group will sponsor its first event for upstate businesses here on Oct. 21. Scheduled at the Hotel Utica from noon to 4 p.m., the event will enable vendors to explore procurement opportunities with purchasing representatives from the Power Authority as well as utilities, state agencies and authorities, and private corporations. "We wanted to make it easier for upstate businesses to attend these events," said Debra White, NYPA's Supplier Diversity Program administrator. She received the African-American Chamber of Commerce of Westchester and Rockland Counties' 2002 Corporate Leader of the Year Award for her work in expanding opportunities for M/WBEs. These efforts have resulted in over $350 million in NYPA business for such firms since 1983. For more information on the Purchasing Exchange, call (914) 681-6976.

NIAGARA FALLS: Plaque Marks Stadium Construction Effort— The unveiling of a plaque recognizing the contributions of the Power Authority and others to the construction of Niagara Falls High School's Sal Maglie Stadium was scheduled to precede an Oct. 11 football game there. Joanne Willmott, NYPA's community relations regional manager, was expected to join representatives of the City of Niagara Falls and the city school district at the Friday night unveiling, marking an example of the community improvements the Power Authority has continued to make in the area since the construction of its Niagara Power Project more than 40 years ago. NYPA provided a $7 million grant to build an athletic complex at the school, including soccer fields, baseball diamonds and a track as well as the stadium. The grand opening of both the stadium and the new high school was in September 2000.

NORTH BLENHEIM: B-G Center Joins Catskill Fall Promotion— The visitors center at NYPA's Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project has joined with the Schoharie County Chamber of Commerce and the Catskill Mountain Crafts Collective to help promote fall tourism throughout the region. Special activities will get under way at the center on Saturday, Oct. 19, with the Sc'ary County Harvest Festival, featuring educational exhibits, local crafts, food vendors and family entertainment, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. On Saturday, Oct. 26, visitors to the center can participate in a Halloween costume contest and parade, from 1 - 4 p.m. That evening, at dusk, an outdoor movie will be presented on the center's lawn. Also at the center, from Oct. 20-31, visitors can compete for prizes by creating custom-designed scarecrows in Scarecrow Lane. All events are admission-free and will be held rain or shine. For more information, call (800) 724-0309 or visit www.catskillcolorsandcrafts.com

HOLLAND PATENT: Wildlife Fete Comes to Central New York— The Power Authority was scheduled to continue its successful series of wildlife festivals with an Oct. 19 event at the Trenton Fish & Game Club here. Similar to festivals at some of NYPA's upstate power projects in recent years, the Oneida County celebration will feature wild and domestic animals, recreational demonstrations, informational exhibits, and arts and crafts for children, plus entertainment and refreshments. Admission and parking are free to the rain-or-shine event, which will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WHITE PLAINS: NYPA's IT Group Recognized for Innovation— InformationWeek magazine has named the Power Authority to its InformationWeek 500, a listing of the nation's largest and most innovative users of information technology (IT). For the past 14 years, InformationWeek has tracked organizations' IT agendas to examine business practices across core areas of operations. Companies named to the list have demonstrated a pattern of technological, procedural and organizational innovation. The listing, based on analyses of information supplied by companies on how they approach and prioritize IT investments, is considered the most detailed source of industry-specific IT budget information.

In the Community: NYPA was scheduled to present an information booth and an electric car at the Great Niagara Gorge Festival and Heritage Walk, Whirlpool State Park, Niagara Falls, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Oct. 12….A Power Authority energy-services exhibit was on display at the 11th annual Local Government Conference, at the State University of New York at Potsdam, Oct. 8….Some 170 participants in the annual Dam Four-Miler walk/run/roller-blade event, sponsored by the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, raised about $3,000 for the Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley, Massena, Oct. 6….Joanne Willmott, community relations manager at the Niagara Power Project, Lewiston, gave a presentation on the project's history to a class of the State University of New York at Buffalo's School of Architecture and Design, Oct. 1. Ron Ciamaga, regional manager for Western New York, spoke to the Engineering Society of Buffalo on the history of the Niagara project, Sept. 26….NYPA co-sponsored the New York State Conservation Council's Conservationist of the Year awards at the council's annual meeting, Oriskany, Sept. 20. David Miller, executive director of the New York Audubon Society, was named the state's top professional conservationist and Chester Crosby of Auburn won in the volunteer conservationist category. The awards recognize outstanding work in preserving and enhancing the state's natural resources.