WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Building Sets the Pace in Saving Energy— New energy-efficiency technologies installed by the Power Authority at its Clarence D. Rappleyea Building here will reduce the building's energy consumption by more than 50 percent and save over $400,000 annually. The $3.8 million upgrade at the building, named for NYPA's former chairman, was in response to Gov. George E. Pataki's "Green and Clean State Buildings" order, setting ambitious energy-efficiency goals. The work ranged from the replacement of the building's chilled-water plant, which produces cool air for air conditioning, to the installation of energy-saving lighting and an energy management system. The building's energy savings exceed the level set by the Governor's order, which requires state agencies to cut their energy use by at least 35 percent by 2010 and were accomplished eight years before the deadline. The improvements will also help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 4,100 tons a year. The Rappleyea building houses about 600 NYPA employees along with various businesses and government agencies that lease space from the Power Authority.

GUILDERLAND: NYISO Forecasts 'Thin Margin' for Summer— New York City, Long Island and the state as a whole should have enough power this summer, but supplies will be tight, the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) reported on Feb. 25 in its latest peak-load forecast and capacity outlook for New York's electricity system. The NYISO, which administers the state's wholesale energy markets and transmission system, said its assessment reflected improvements to existing facilities, the addition of a modest amount of new generation and efforts to reduce power demands at peak-use periods. It estimated installed-capacity requirements for the summer at 37,087 megawatts (mw) for New York State and 8,816 mw for the New York City area. "Despite the forecast for this summer, New York still needs to focus on getting new generators sited and built on an expedited basis," said William J. Museler, NYISO president and CEO. "New York's electric demand continues to rise and shows little sign of abating. Unless significant generating capacity is added to the system—and soon—demand is going to overwhelm supply and reliability will be at risk."

BUFFALO: Refrigerator Replacement Program Moves North—With the Power Authority's efforts to replace more than 180,000 old, inefficient refrigerators with compact, energy-efficient models at New York City public housing scheduled to conclude this year, the program is expanding to other Empire State locales. Aided by the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, NYPA in February completed the installation of 948 new refrigerators in apartments maintained by the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA). The delivery of about 380 additional units is scheduled to begin in mid-March. The new appliances consume about a third of the electricity used by older models, and BMHA expects to save more than $40,000 a year on its energy costs. The state's Energy Research and Development Authority is also a supporter of the refrigerator replacement program, which may be introduced in other New York cities in the future.

EAST MEADOW: Lighting Upgrade Cuts Costs at Medical Center— The energy-saving potential of 21st-century lighting technologies will be evident throughout the main building of the Nassau University Medical Center by mid-2003. That's when a NYPA-installed high-efficiency lighting upgrade will start returning close to $337,000 in annual energy-cost savings in return for the medical center's investment of just over $900,000. The new fluorescent lamps, replacing 30-year-old fixtures, will show colors more accurately, and produce more light per watt. The six-month project will also include new LED (light-emitting diode) exit signs and replacement of mercury-vapor fixtures with metal-halide models in loading docks. NYPA provided up-front financing for the project and will recover its investment by sharing in the energy savings. With assistance from state Sen. Kemp Hannon, a Petroleum Overcharge Restitution grant of $250,000 was also obtained for the effort, and the Long Island Power Authority will provide a $6,650 rebate. The medical center is a key unit of the Nassau Health Care Corporation, a 1,500-bed, seven-community health center, serving Nassau, eastern Queens and western Suffolk counties.

WHITE PLAINS: Savings from Energy Services Keep Rising— Savings to the state and local governments—and New York taxpayers—from NYPA's energy-services projects at schools and other public facilities had grown to more than $80 million by the end of last year. The projects, at locations in 2002 ranging from Buffalo public schools to New York City police stations, included the installation of high-efficiency lighting, automated energy management systems and advanced heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Through the end of the year, the Power Authority's multiyear program had resulted in the completion of some 1,200 projects at more than 2,000 facilities across the state. These measures have reduced power demand by more than 175,000 kilowatts—equivalent to the output of a medium-sized power plant—and helped clean the air by avoiding the release of more than 556,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year.

In the Community: An exhibit on the Niagara Power Project's visitors center was slated to be on display at the Vacationing in Your Backyard, A Community Consumer Trade Show, Walden Galleria Mall, Cheektowoga, March 8-9….Ron Ciamaga, NYPA's regional manager for Northern New York, and Dean Walker, president of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2104, were scheduled to receive the United Way of Niagara's Outstanding Employee Coordinators Award for their support for the annual fund-raising campaign at the Niagara project, Niagara Falls, March 7….Carol Simpson, senior community relations representative, made presentations on the Basics of Electricity to students at the St. Regis Mohawk School, Hogansburg, and the Norwood-Norfolk Elementary School, Norwood, both on March 7; the Salmon River Elementary School, March 4; and the L.P. Quinn Elementary School, Tupper Lake, Feb 25.