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| Week of June 20, 2004 |
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NEW YORK: PLM Reductions in Energy Use Keep Growing— The Power
Authority's Peak Load Management (PLM) program to reduce summer electrical
demand among NYPA’s metropolitan area government and business customers
resumed June 1 at more than 80 customer facilities. New customers include
Citibank's 52-story Citibank Court Square building in Queens and six
additional City University of New York campuses. PLM customers trim their
energy use, at NYPA's request, either by operating their own on-site
generation or by reducing their discretionary load—the amount of electricity
a facility could eliminate without serious inconvenience when power
shortages threaten on the warmest days. On last year's peak day, June 26,
demand reductions through the program totaled 57,000 kilowatts (kw)—equivalent
to the capacity of a small power plant—and this year's program is on track
to exceed the 2003 performance. Customers earn incentives of $40 for each
kilowatt saved; some earned incentives of several hundred thousand dollars
in 2003. PLM energy savings have grown by about 10,000 kw a year for the
past three years. ALBANY: NYPA Helps Fund New York’s 'Hydrogen Roadmap'— Gov. George E. Pataki announced on June 9 that the Power Authority has joined the Empire State's other energy authorities in funding projects that will assist in creating a "Hydrogen Roadmap" in the state. A total of $750,000 has been awarded to six projects through a collaborative effort among NYPA, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the Long Island Power Authority. The Hydrogen Roadmap will guide hydrogen research and development efforts in the state, promote public outreach and education about hydrogen-related energy and bolster the governor's efforts to make New York the nation's leader in developing and fostering renewable energy technologies. In a related development, the Rochester Institute of Technology has been selected as the site of one of four new Hydrogen Technology Learning Centers, to be created in New York, California and Florida. The centers are being funded through a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy in cooperation with state energy organizations. NIAGARA FALLS: Stakeholders to Preview Relicensing Schedule— Stakeholders involved in the relicensing of NYPA's Niagara Power Project will meet here June 24 to review upcoming milestones in the multiyear process. Since their last meeting, in November, stakeholders have been kept up-to-date on relicensing developments, including studies on environmental and socioeconomic issues and other topics, via a relicensing website (http://niagara.nypa.gov ). The results of the studies will help inform upcoming settlement discussions, set to begin in August, between NYPA and stakeholder groups, including representatives of local governments, community and environmental groups, NYPA customers, Native Americans and state and federal regulators. The discussions will lead to the filing of a license application, plus an Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by August 2005. The Power Authority's original license to operate the Niagara project will expire in August 2007. This month's stakeholder meeting will be held at the Quality Inn Niagara-Hotel and Conference Center from 8 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. MASSENA: FERC Resolves Outstanding St. Lawrence-FDR Issues— In resolving outstanding issues concerning its issuance of a new 50-year license for NYPA's St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project here, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 4 reversed its earlier decision requiring an allocation of 4,800 kilowatts (kw) to Massachusetts. While accepting the Power Authority's argument that there is no evidence of Congressional intent that St. Lawrence-FDR project power be allocated to neighboring states, FERC left standing settlement terms with six other out-of-state customers. Those agreements, reached prior to the submission of NYPA's license application, cover 34,500 kw of power. The allocations expire in 2017. The FERC ruling also confirmed the location of the project’s new boundary, excluding all of the Town of Lisbon and the portion of the Town of Waddington upstream from Iroquois Dam. BROOKLYN: NYPA Provides Funds for Grand Ferry Park— NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann on June 10 presented a contribution of $300,000 for improvements to Grand Ferry Park in Williamsburg. Brooklyn Borough Parks Com-missioner Julius Spiegel accepted the donation. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation will oversee the improvements in cooperation with Community Board One. The park is on waterfront property with a sweeping view of lower Manhattan. It can accommodate fishing, picnics and informal recreational activities. The Power Authority has invested more than $116 million in energy-efficiency proj-ects at nearly 270 public facilities in Brooklyn. Through its involvement in Gov. George Pataki's Power for Jobs program, NYPA has also helped create or maintain more than 9,200 jobs by supplying economical electricity to 28 Brooklyn employers. WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Co-sponsors Energy-Efficiency Seminar— The Power Authority joined with state and federal energy experts at NYPA's office building here June 8 in presenting strategies to help representatives of about 100 businesses and commercial building owners make their facilities more energy efficient. The seminar, Energy & Environmental Technologies to Boost Your Business Today, detailed the financial and environmental benefits that can be realized through measures ranging from the installation of new windows and insulation to the use of geothermal, cogeneration or alternative energy systems. Co-sponsors with the Power Authority were the U.S. Department of Energy's Rebuild America program and the state Energy Research and Development Authority's Mid-Hudson Energy $mart Communities program; several Westchester County municipalities also supported the seminar. Participants toured the NYPA office building, at 123 Main St., where a recent $3.8 million renovation project has reduced energy consumption by 50 percent, saving more than $400,000 annually. In the Community: Dale Henry, a security guard at the Niagara Power Project who has been selected as the Power Authority's 2004 Volunteer of the Year, was recognized at the Tribute to Corporate Volunteers luncheon, sponsored by the Friends of RSVP, Tavern on the Green, New York City, June 16….An exhibit on the Niagara project's visitors center was on view at the Northern Association of Boating Administrators Conference, Niagara Falls, June 14-15….The Power Authority donated a Global Electric Motorcar (GEM) to South Broadway Business Industry Development as part of an effort to promote clean air and reduce noise pollution at state and local government agencies, Yonkers, June 10. Through a joint NYPA-DaimlerChrysler program, 300 of the zero-emission vehicles have been placed in service at more than 40 locations around New York State….NYPA's White Plains office played host to a housing seminar for community service providers, sponsored by the Bridge Fund of Westchester, which offers budget counseling to families to prevent homelessness, June 9….The Power Authority exhibited an electric vehicle and staffed an information booth at the Niagara Falls Community Faire Parade and at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center, near the finish line of a seven-mile walk on NYPA-co-sponsored National Trails Day, June 5….Fire departments and rescue squads serving communities around the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project received financial support and a big "thank you" from NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann at this year's Emergency Services Appreciation Day, North Blenheim, May 27. |