UTICA: NYPA Energy Upgrades Provide Savings to Taxpayers— Gov. George Pataki has announced the Power Authority’s completion of energy-efficiency upgrades at more than 20 public facilities in Oneida County, saving more than $400,000 annually on the county’s energy bills. The projects, featuring high-efficiency lighting, occupancy sensors, boiler and pump-motor replacements, variable-speed drives and energy management system upgrades, will also eliminate 3,300 tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year because of lower power demand. Oneida County Executive Joseph Griffo joined area and NYPA officials on May 10 at the Utica campus of Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC), one of the sites of the improvements, to mark the completion of the projects. Additional sites in the $5.6 million effort include MVCC’s Rome campus, the Utica Memorial Auditorium, Union Station, Oneida County Airport, the Water Quality Control facility and the county Sheriff’s Department. The improvements are consistent with the governor’s 2001 Executive Order 111, directing state agencies to reduce their energy use by 35 percent by the end of the decade. The Power Authority has invested hundreds of millions of dollars on energy upgrades for state agencies as well as at local government facilities like those in Oneida County.

ALBANY: NYPA Supports Tour de Sol With Funding, Exhibit— The Power Authority was a key supporting sponsor of the 17th Annual Tour de Sol, America’s sustainable energy and transportation festival, which concluded here on May 16. Gov. George Pataki was the featured speaker at the festival’s finale at Empire State Plaza, where more than 50 vehicles were on display. The Tour, which kicked off May 13 in Saratoga Springs, is designed to promote the use of alternative-fueled vehicles to reduce air pollution and oil consumption. It included a Monte Carlo-style rally, with prizes for the most-fuel-efficient performances. NYPA contributed funding and exhibited a Ford Escape hybrid-electric vehicle. As part of its Clean Transportation Program, NYPA has placed about 750 electric and hybrid-electric vehicles on New York State roads.

WHITE PLAINS: Purchasing Exchange Promotes Diversity— The Power Authority will conduct its 15th annual Purchasing Exchange on June 2 to help qualified minority- and women-owned enterprises identify and pursue business opportunities with large customers. Participants will include other large utilities, New York State and New York City governmental agencies and authorities, trade associations and large corporations. The Power Authority’s Supplier Diversity Program helps build effective working relationships between minority- and women-owned businesses and large buying organizations, and the Purchasing Exchange has proved to be an effective networking event. The Purchasing Exchange will be at the Power Authority’s White Plains headquarters, at 123 Main St., from noon to 4 p.m. For information, call 914-681-6976. Attendance confirmation forms are available on the Power Authority’s website, www.nypa.gov.

ALBANY: Governor Calls for Tougher Appliance Standards— Gov. George Pataki has introduced legislation that would set new energy-efficiency standards for certain household appliances and electronic equipment sold in New York State. The governor said his proposal would save consumers money on their electric bills, reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and cut pollution from power plants. When fully implemented, the new criteria could save enough electricity to power 350,000 homes and reduce emissions from fossil-fueled power plants by thousands of tons, the equivalent of removing 174,000 automobiles from state roads. Among the items targeted in the legislation are ceiling fans, torchiere lighting fixtures, illuminated exit signs and other devices not covered by current state or federal law. The bill also calls for new efficiency levels for products that consume electricity while in standby mode such as DVD players, video cassette recorders and digital television adaptors. The new standards will be developed by New York’s Secretary of State and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, which partners with NYPA and the Long Island Power Authority in promoting the Stay Cool! program, encouraging consumers to buy energy-efficient air conditioners.

SCHOHARIE: NYPA Helps Fund Major Renovation of Library—Power Authority President Eugene Zeltmann participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony with area officials on May 1 marking the reopening of the Schoharie Free Library after a major renovation. NYPA was a major contributor to the multiyear effort at the 1866 structure. The three-phase project started in 1998, following a 1994 fire and the 1995 “flood of the century,” which left five feet of water in the library’s basement. The renovations resulted in a redecorated interior and new roof for the original building, the addition of a new children’s area, a new fire alarm system and landscaping. Chartered in 1916, the library moved to the Victorian-era house in 1963. NYPA’s Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project is a Schoharie Valley neighbor of the library.

NORTH BLENHEIM: Lansing Manor Quilt Show Is Big Draw— More than 330 visitors turned out for Lansing Manor’s second annual Quilt Show on Mother’s Day, May 8, to peruse a display of antique quilts from Schoharie, Greene and Delaware counties. The event at the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project’s visitors center complex featured about 50 quilts, some dating to the 18th century, with a quilt-making demonstration and entertainment by the Stamford Musical Arts Society Chamber Players. Mothers were each given a small flowering plant. Historic Lansing Manor, an early-19th- century country estate, has been completely restored and is operated as a museum by the Power Authority and the Schoharie County Historical Society. It will play host to several cultural events throughout the summer season, including an exhibit of porcelain dolls during the entire month of June. More than 100 dolls from the collection of Doris Carpenter, a Lansing Manor tour guide, will be on display.

In the Community: NYPA was to co-sponsor the Ride for Missing Children, a 105-mile bike ride in Oneida and Herkimer counties to raise funds for the printing and distribution of posters for missing children, May 20…. Exhibits on the Niagara Power Project’s visitors center and on the upcoming NYPA-sponsored Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival and wildlife festivals were on view at the first Western New York Getaway Travel Show, Eastern Hills Mall, Williamsville, May 14-15….The Niagara project’s visitors center hosted a dinner and reception for participants at a semiannual meeting of the Great Lakes Commission, Lewiston, May 12….NYPA Speakers Bureau members spoke to several community groups on various Power Authority programs: to the Roxbury Rotary Club, May 16; to the League of Women Voters for Bedford/Lewisboro and North Salem, Bedford, and AARP chapter 4158, North Flushing, both on May 10; and to the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, Peekskill, May 5. To schedule a presentation, contact Maryann Falls, Speakers Bureau manager at (914) 390-8173 or maryann.falls@nypa.gov ….NYPA made Basics of Electricity presentations at the Mullen Elementary School’s science fair, Tonawanda, and Carthage Elementary School, both on May 13; and Heuvelton Elementary School, May 11….As part of its Clean Transportation Program, the Power Authority demonstrated electric and hybrid-electric vehicles at the Claremont School, Ossining, May 18; the Louis M. Klein Middle School, Harrison, May 9; and the Lincoln-Titus elementary school, Crompond, May 5.