Spring 2005

The Clark Energy Center (CEC) in Marcy will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year as the nerve center for the New York Power Authority’s “energy highway.” Opened in 1980, the CEC is home to 160 employees who monitor and control NYPA’s 17 generating plants, maintain the Power Authority’s 1,400 miles of transmission lines and coordinate electricity delivery to customers.

“Our job, quite simply, is to help keep the lights on all over New York State,” said Ed Hubert, NYPA’s senior vice president of transmission.

In a two-story, nondescript building northwest of Utica, operations personnel are on duty around the clock in the Energy Control Center, routing electricity instantaneously to meet consumer demand throughout the state. Operators continually monitor the status of the power grid, exchange information with the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO)—the organization responsible for the reliable operation of the state’s transmission grid—and run a competitive electricity market.

Every six seconds, thousands of bits of information flow into the control center and are exchanged with the NYISO. Staff members monitor data ranging from the output of generating facilities, to transmission line availability, to status of customer loads and even the water levels of the lakes, rivers and reservoirs that feed hydroelectric plants.

If more power is needed, the control center signals a NYPA plant to increase production. If a NYPA power line goes out of service, or “trips,” operators help reroute the electricity flow until the line is restored to service.

“Our operations personnel take great pride in staying on top of the roller coaster of changing power demands,” said Gerry LaRose, director of power system operations. “Everyone here recognizes that we’re at a hub of the state’s energy supply, and we feel a deep responsibility to do the job right.”

CEC’s 85-acre Marcy Substation, one of the largest in the state, is capable of handling more than 3 million kilowatts of electricity and is the terminal for the state’s highest voltage line, NYPA’s 765 kilovolt (kv) line from the Canadian border. It is also home to NYPA’s Convertible Static Compensator, a new multimillion dollar device that increases power flows without the need to build new transmission lines.

In addition to being at the center of NYPA’s giant power network, the CEC is home to NYPA’s technical training staff and is the training center for Power Authority linemen who maintain NYPA’s high-voltage transmission lines on over 8,700 towers throughout New York State.

The Power Authority is the largest state-owned utility in the nation and provides some of the lowest-cost electricity in New York State, largely from huge hydroelectric facilities at Niagara Falls and Massena.

NYPA sells power to community-owned electric systems like those in Sherrill, Frankfort, Ilion and Mohawk, to rural electric cooperatives like the Oneida-Madison Cooperative, to government agencies to reduce their energy bills, to private utilities and to job-producing companies. The Power Authority’s low-cost electricity helps to support more than 400,000 jobs statewide.

The Clark Energy Center is named for Frederick R. Clark, who served as the Power Authority’s chairman from 1977 to 1979.

NYPA Energy Projects Reduce Power Costs

Taxpayers in Oneida County are saving about $400,000 per year in energy costs thanks to energy-efficiency projects completed by the New York Power Authority at about a dozen county facilities. By reducing the need for power, the improvements also eliminate 3,300 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

The projects represent an investment of more than $5 million by the Power Authority, costs that will be recouped through the energy savings.

The work began in 2002 and is finishing up this year. The improvements include boiler and pump-motor replacements and other upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems; high-efficiency lighting; and more-efficient energy-management systems.

A total of 18 Oneida County facilities received energy upgrades. They included the Public Works building, the Mohawk Valley Community College campuses in Utica and Rome, several buildings at the Oneida County Airport, the Sheriff’s Department, the Water Quality Control Facility, the Utica Memorial Auditorium, Union Station and several office buildings. NYPA and county officials are discussing more projects that might be done under a second phase of the energy-efficiency work

“The Power Authority’s energy services projects for public facilities in Oneida County are win-win,” said Arnie Talgo, NYPA senior policy analyst. “The county can save hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs, while the Power Authority helps to advance Governor Pataki’s energy-efficiency and clean-air initiatives.”

In the past, the Power Authority has performed similar energy upgrades for the Utica Fire District, the New York Mills School District and the City of Sherrill.

During recent years, NYPA completed projects at six facilities owned by Madison County and also did work at the State University of New York at Morrisville. The projects save taxpayers a total of $200,000 per year on their energy bills and reduce greenhouse gases by 1,200 tons a year.

In Herkimer County, past energy services projects have included work in the villages of Frankfort, Ilion and Mohawk, and in the Mount Markham School District.

(Photo caption - An energy-efficient, infrared overhead heating system cuts energy costs at the Oneida County Airport.)

Photo and Caption

(Photo caption - NYPA’s Dave Neary discusses hard hats and safety glasses with teacher Ericka DeFranco and student Jarrod Stanek during a Career Day at Holland Patent Middle School.)

Surplus Computers Serve Community

The Power Authority recently delivered 20 surplus computers to three public facilities in the Mohawk Valley region.

The Utica Children’s Museum and the Utica Zoo each received five computers, which will be used by students for research during their visits.

The Otto Shortell Middle School in the Oneida School District, Wampsville, also received 10 computers, adding to the 10 that the Power Authority delivered last fall.

These deliveries are in addition to computers supplied to the Utica School District last year.

NYPA has made surplus computers available to public facilities throughout the state, especially schools and other nonprofit organizations involved in educational programs and community-service projects. Each computer is cleaned and furnished with 128 megabytes of memory.

In 2004, the Power Authority delivered 185 surplus computers to schools around the state.

Calendar of Area Events

The Power Authority will be a corporate sponsor for several events in the Mohawk Valley this summer:

JULY 8 – 9
Boilermaker Health & Fitness Expo, Utica

JULY 10
Boilermaker Road Race, Utica

JULY 17
19th Annual Erie Canal Canoe Classic, Marcy

JULY 29 – AUGUST 14
Honor America Days, Rome

AUGUST 8 – 14
Canal Days, Little Falls

SEPTEMBER 24
Head of Erie Rowing Regatta, Rome
Central New York Wildlife Festival, Deerfield

Mohawk Valley News

Welcome to the first issue of Mohawk Valley News, a community newsletter for residents of Oneida, Herkimer and Madison counties.

The New York Power Authority has launched Mohawk Valley News to keep our neighbors up-to-date on activities at our Clark Energy Center in Marcy, as well as on developments around the Valley.

Each issue of Mohawk Valley News will have news and feature stories about people and events, and a calendar of upcoming events around the region. Mohawk Valley News will be published periodically during the year. We hope you enjoy reading it and find it informative.

If you have comments or suggestions, please contact Carol Rodino, community relations manager, at 315-792-8511, or by e-mail at carol.rodino@nypa.gov.