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Week of August 29, 2004
About NYPA Notes

NYPA Notes provides periodic updates on the New York Power Authority's statewide activities to stimulate economic growth, promote energy conservation and develop new, environmentally friendly energy technologies.

It also reports on the Authority's efforts to facilitate solutions to New York's energy problems and on its potential benefits to the state as the electricity industry shifts from regulation to competition.

Please feel free to reprint any of the information in NYPA Notes. We hope you find the newsletter informative and useful and would welcome your comments and inquiries (nancy.ames@nypa.gov).

NYPA Calendar

Aug. 31: NYPA will co-sponsor Artpark's Tuesday in the Park season finale, with the band Switch playing classic songs from the Beatles, Chicago, the Eagles and others, 450 S. Fourth Street, Lewiston, 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but there is a $6 parking fee.
 
WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Acts to Minimize Future Outage Risks— The Power Authority and New York's other transmission utilities have taken steps to boost the reliability and resilience of New York's transmission grid in the event of a repeat of the August 2003 blackout, which originated in Ohio and left tens of millions of people in the dark. At NYPA's midstate Clark Energy Center, which coordinates operations of the Authority's generating and transmission facilities, computer applications have been expanded to better inform operators about neighboring state conditions and offer comprehensive displays of in-depth data on the real-time status of the state's electric power system. Operator training has been intensified to enable faster and more detailed responses to power emergencies; the facilities have also installed battery-powered emergency lighting and additional alarms to monitor changes in power flow and voltage. Should they be needed on short notice, cots, blankets and food are now stored on site—another lesson learned when many employees stayed on for extended periods as last year's blackout and its aftermath unfolded.

LEWISTON: Relicensing Settlement Talks Focus on Specifics— Stakeholders participating in the relicensing of NYPA's Niagara Power Project have begun to zero in on specific settlement packages that will be negotiated as part of a license application to be submitted to federal regulators one year from now. Besides its license application, NYPA will provide the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with an Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment (APEA) pertaining to its operation of the Niagara hydro project. It will also file an application for a Section 401 Water Quality Certification from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation. Earlier this month, stakeholders began reviewing a list of projects NYPA is proposing as part of settlement negotiations that are expected to continue through the end of the year. The proposals cover areas to be addressed in the license and environmental assessment, including groundwater, state parkland, ecological issues, host communities, Native American interests and potential support for a Niagara River Greenway. NYPA's original 50-year license for the Niagara project will expire in August 2007; it is required to file a final license application and APEA with FERC by August 2005.

MASSENA: Work Begins on New Area Recreational Facilities—Work has begun at four North Country recreational facilities slated to receive some $3.7 million in improvements tied to the relicensing of NYPA's St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project. In June, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a recreation plan that outlines an extensive array of projects NYPA has agreed to undertake in communities adjacent to its hydroelectric facility. Earlier this month, J.E. Sheehan Contracting Corp. of Potsdam began construction of a new parking area for the boat launch at Whittaker Park in Waddington. Last week, the contractor started additional renovations at town beaches in Waddington, Massena and Lisbon. Among the facilities that will either be replaced or completely rehabilitated are bathhouses, playgrounds, boat launches and beachfronts. Work will proceed through the year, with completion expected by the 2005 summer season. Additional work at town facilities in Waddington, Massena and Louisville is scheduled for next year.

NEW YORK: MTA Saves With Energy-Efficient Windows—NYPA has installed 653 new energy-efficient windows at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) Madison Avenue headquarters, replacing windows that were over 30 years old. The $1.2 million window-replacement project will result in savings of $45,000 a year on the MTA's energy bill. From its midtown Manhattan headquarters, the MTA oversees more than 60,000 employees who run the city's buses, subways and commuter trains. NYPA has provided energy upgrades at more than 2,200 public facilities statewide, saving taxpayers $88 million a year. As with other projects, the Power Authority is financing the window replacements, and it will recover its costs by sharing in the MTA's energy bill savings.

NORTH BLENHEIM: Limited Boating Tryout at Lower Reservoir— The Blenheim-Gilboa Pumped Storage Power Project's lower reservoir will reopen for boating during the Labor Day weekend to test procedures that could lead to more normal boating activities next summer. The Power Authority will allow boating on the lower reservoir Sept. 4-6 for those who obtain and display special permits on their boats. B-G's two reservoirs were closed for boating following the September 11 terrorist attacks. The upper reservoir reopened earlier this summer, and permits for boating on that reservoir will provide access to the lower reservoir during the Labor Day holiday weekend. Permit holders are required to notify the Power Authority the day before they plan to go boating and must undergo boat inspections. Applications for boating permits may be obtained by calling 1-800-724-0309, or by visiting www.nypa.gov. To notify the Power Authority in advance of a planned boating expedition at B-G, please call 1-800-FOR-NYPA or 1-800-367-6972, ext. 6364. The reservoirs may be closed at any time due to an increased threat level as determined by Power Authority security officials.

LEWISTON: Niagara Project Modernization on Track—Workers at NYPA's Niagara Power Project have begun reassembly and testing of the 11th turbine-generator to be overhauled as part of a multi-year, $300 million modernization of all 13 turbine-generator units at the site's Robert Moses plant. Begun in 1991, the effort is designed to extend the life of the plant by replacing the original, 40-year-old, turbine-generators. The 11th unit is scheduled to return to commercial operation by Nov. 1. Work on the next turbine-generator scheduled for overhaul is set to begin in January 2005. The Niagara project is on track to have all of the Moses plant's generating units upgraded by November 2006. A life extension and modernization program is currently under way at the Power Authority's St. Lawrence-FDR project in Massena, where workers are undertaking a similar unit-by-unit replacement and refurbishment effort to extend the useful life of the project's16 turbine-generators.

In the Community: The Power Authority demonstrated electric-drive vehicles at the Cheese Festival, Monroe, Aug. 28, and the Lewiston Art Festival, Aug. 14…. An information booth on upcoming events at NYPA's Niagara project visitors center was on display at the Albright Knox Art Museum jazz series, Buffalo, Aug. 22, and at the Erie County Fair, Hamburg, Aug. 21…. The visitors center at NYPA's Blenheim-Gilboa project sponsored an informational display at the Cobleskill Sunshine Fair, Aug. 12.…Steve Ramsey, senior community relations representative, spoke to the Gilboa Historical Society on an overview of the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project, Aug.18….Over 80 NYPA employees and other building tenants at the Power Authority's White Plains office donated almost 80 pints at the New York Blood Center's recent drive, Aug. 4.