NEWS
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NYPA Board Approves Funding for Emergency Services in Schoharie County Contact: November 28, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees Tuesday approved a five-year, $31,000 agreement to help offset the costs of emergency preparedness measures in the Schoharie Valley, home to NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project. “This funding would be allocated to the Schoharie County Office of Emergency Management to implement emergency preparedness measures within the Schoharie Valley,” said NYPA Board Chairman Frank S. McCullough Jr. “The safety of our employees and residents in Schoharie County is vitally important and we are proud to once again work together to meet this common goal.” Chairman McCullough added that the total sum of $31,000 approved by the trustees is on top of $20,000 in annual support NYPA provides several volunteer fire departments and ambulance corps who provide emergency services within the area of the Blenheim-Gilboa project. The five-year funding agreement was requested earlier this year by Earl VanWormer, III, chairman of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors, in light of the installation of an early warning siren system along Schoharie Creek that is expected to be operating in January. “NYPA has always been a great neighbor with a good working relationship with Schoharie County and we are very pleased the Authority board has agreed to provide us with this funding,” said VanWormer, who indicated he would recommend the funding be used annually for the operation and maintenance of the new siren system. In addition to annual financial support for emergency services, NYPA donated a defibrillator to the Schoharie County Sheriff’s Department in 2004 and $10,000 to help the county purchase a hovercraft rescue vehicle in 1996, following severe flooding. The 1,040,000-kilowatt Blenheim-Gilboa project, which began commercial operation in 1973, supplies electricity during periods of greatest consumer demand. About NYPA: ■ NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. ■ NYPA is a leader in promoting energy-efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives. ■ It is the nation’s largest state-owned electric utility, with 18 generating facilities in various parts of the state and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. |