TONAWANDA: GM Investment at Engine Plant to Save 720 Jobs— Gov. George E. Pataki announced on April 11 that General Motors will invest $300 million to build a new line of fuel-efficient V-6 engines at its GM Powertrain Engine Plant here, supporting 720 jobs. The plant, a NYPA electricity customer, employs 3,400 workers and is the world's largest engine-manufacturing facility. New equipment scheduled to be installed beginning by midyear will be used to produce new 3.5-liter and 3.9-liter V-6 engines that will be about 8 percent more fuel-efficient than previous units. The investment is in addition to $500 million GM has spent at the plant over the past two years. The Power Authority is working with Empire State Development to provide additional low-cost electricity to GM, supplementing its previous allocations of more than 18 mw of NYPA power. "Combined with Governor Pataki's aggressive efforts to invigorate our economy, the New York Power Authority's low-cost electricity continues to help General Motors and other industries make valuable investments in the future of Western New York," NYPA Chairman Louis P. Ciminelli said.

ALBANY: Governor's Bill Promotes Clean Air, Energy Efficiency— Legislation proposed by Gov. George E. Pataki would make it easier for school districts and other public entities to procure energy-efficiency services and clean energy technologies by allowing them to tap into procedures already in use by the Power Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The governor's proposal would permit public entities to use the competitive procurement practices of NYPA and NYSERDA and contract directly with the state authorities to secure such services and technologies. Currently, public entities are required to use their own procurement procedures to select energy-efficiency services providers. This has often resulted in delays because of the lack of experience of many public entities in contracting for energy-efficiency services.

NEW YORK: NYPA 'Green' Building Highlighted at Conference— Energy-efficiency improvements at the Power Authority's White Plains office building "vividly demonstrate that government can lead by example" in saving energy and improving air quality, NYPA President and CEO Eugene Zeltmann told the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) on April 10. At a meeting honoring Gov. George E. Pataki for environmental leadership, Zeltmann said a new cooling plant, an automated energy management system, high-efficiency lighting and other upgrades cut the building’s annual energy costs by more than 50 percent, saving more than $400,000, while avoiding 4,100 tons of greenhouse-gas emissions a year. He said NYPA has completed energy upgrades at close to 2,000 schools and other public facilities across the state, savings taxpayers more than $80 million a year and reducing emissions by nearly 580,000 tons annually. The Power Authority will invest about $100 million in such projects in 2003, Zeltmann said. The USGBC presented its Leadership Award to the governor in recognition of his efforts in promoting "green energy" initiatives.

LEWISTON: Public Meeting Held on Niagara Project Relicensing— The general public got a chance to learn more about ongoing efforts to relicense NYPA's Niagara Power Project at an informational meeting on April 2. The evening meeting, held at Niagara Falls High School, was conducted for local residents unable to attend a series of daytime sessions that began in January and is expected to run through the spring. More than 100 stakeholders—individuals and organizations from Western New York and elsewhere interested in the Niagara project's relicensing—have been meeting every other week to identify issues relating to the power project. These sessions will result in the issuance of a report known as Scoping Document 1, which will define the scope of an Applicant-Prepared Environmental Assessment. The April 2 meeting was intended to provide the public with an overview of the relicensing process and answer questions. A formal public hearing to solicit comments from the community will be scheduled once Scoping Document 1 has been published later this year. For more information, visit http://niagara.nypa.gov .

MASSENA: St. Lawrence Power Project Passes Licensing Test—The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has issued a Water Quality Certificate required for a new federal license for the Power Authority's St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project here. The DEC certificate, issued March 19, affirms that the hydroelectric project meets New York's water quality standards. NYPA's application for a new license, filed in October 2001, is under review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is expected to issue draft and final environmental impact statements later this year. Once the new license is approved, NYPA will implement a broad package of benefits for local communities, including financial payments, recreational improvements, environmental enhancements and the conveyance of hundreds of acres of land from public to private control. The Power Authority's original 50-year license to operate the St. Lawrence-FDR project expires Oct. 31.

BUFFALO: NYPA Co-sponsors 'Electrifying' WNY Exhibition—A Power Authority-co-sponsored exhibition on the impacts of hydroelectric power on Western New York is scheduled to open at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society on May 3. Wheels of Power: Electrifying Western New York will focus on the history of hydropower development at Niagara Falls, starting with early efforts to tame the Niagara River's rushing waters and America's environmental preservation movement, which led to the creation of the nation's first state park, the Niagara Reservation, in 1885. NYPA's Niagara Power Project will be featured in the exposition, which runs until May 31, 2004. As a co-sponsor, the Power Authority has contributed $5,000 and will participate in the show's lecture series. More information is available from the historical society at 716-873-9644 or www.bechs.org

WHITE PLAINS: NYPA Receives APPA's Highest Safety Award— The Power Authority has again earned the American Public Power Association's (APPA) highest award for safety in the workplace. It is the seventh consecutive year that NYPA has taken a top award in the competition for the nation's public power organizations. The award is based on the number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and worker-hours, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, during a year. NYPA won first-place honors in a category for public power organizations with 2-4 million reportable worker-hours. About 220 utilities competed in seven different categories.

In the Community: To help defray lighting costs for Little League and Babe Ruth League night games on Staten Island, NYPA provided a $2,500 check to each of nine leagues at Borough Hall, April 8….The Power Authority helped sponsor the eighth annual North Country Sustainable Energy Fair, Canton, April 5. The event featured speakers, workshops and more than 30 exhibits on renewable energy technologies, including solar photovoltaics, large- and small-scale wind power, geothermal energy and bio-diesel energy produced from vegetable oil….NYPA co-sponsored the 10th annual Nancy Price Power Run, which was open to runners, walkers and skaters of all ages, Youngstown, April 5….The Power Authority's programs in Westchester County were the subject of talks by Michael Saltzman, senior information specialist, to the Jewish Community Center's Wednesday Men's Club, Scarsdale; and by Leon Nock, operational audits manager, to the Yorktown Rotary, both on April 2.