NYPA Thanks Nine Emergency Service Units in Area of its Blenheim-Gilboa Project

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Steve Ramsey
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June 17, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NORTH BLENHEIM—New York Power Authority (NYPA) President Eugene W. Zeltmann presented checks totaling $20,000 Tuesday to volunteer fire departments and rescue squads that respond to emergencies at its Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Project and in the nearby communities.

“There’s no overstating the importance of the critical services you provide. And—as a long-time member of the Schoharie County community—the Power Authority is delighted to show its appreciation,” said Zeltmann in remarks at the Blenheim-Gilboa Visitors Center here.

The checks went to the Blenheim Hose Company, Conesville Fire Department, Conesville Rescue Squad, Grand Gorge Fire Department, Grand Gorge Rescue Squad, Jefferson Fire Department, Jefferson Rescue Squad, Middleburgh Fire Department, and the Middleburgh Emergency Volunteer Ambulance Corps (MEVAC).

Zeltmann, who serves as NYPA’s chief executive officer, noted that MEVAC responded to an emergency at Blenheim-Gilboa last October, involving a contract employee who went into cardiac arrest after experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. Members of B-G’s first response team re-established a pulse with one of six defibrillators at the project, before MEVAC arrived to take the worker to Bassett Hospital.

In April, the American Public Power Association presented NYPA with its highest award for safety in the workplace. It marked the seventh consecutive year that the Power Authority, the nation’s largest state-owned utility, has won the top safety award in its class of utilities.

The Blenheim-Gilboa Project produces more than one million kilowatts of electricity in peak demand periods by drawing water from the Schoharie Creek and recycling it between two reservoirs. The project marks its 30th anniversary this year.