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Week of June 5, 2005
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
June 7: The Power Authority will sponsor the children and family entertainment at the Tuesdays in the Park series at Artpark, Lewiston. Tonight’s concert will feature Celtic Fest with Glengarry Bhoys & Kilbrannan, 6:30 p.m., $6/car parking fee.

June 14: The Power Authority will sponsor the children and family entertainment at the Tuesdays in the Park series at Artpark, Lewiston. Tonight’s concert will feature Asleep at the Wheel, 6:30 p.m., $6/car parking fee.

 
UPTON: Agreement Extends Brookhaven Lab’s Power Contract— Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island will see a three-year continuation of its NYPA power contract under an economic-development agreement reached with the Power Authority and two other state agencies. In announcing the agreement on May 22, Gov. George Pataki said it will support additional capital investment at the research facility, one of the region’s highest energy users, and ensure that its long-term energy needs are met. Under the pact, Brookhaven will continue to pay lower transmission costs and work to use less power during summer peak-demand periods. The Power Authority will vary the sources delivering electricity to the laboratory to ensure the lowest prices. Combined, these measures will provide annual cost reductions of $5.8 million. Brookhaven’s power agreement with NYPA was due to expire at the end of June, and higher energy bills may have jeopardized future research contracts and employment at the laboratory, which supports about 2,600 jobs. The Power Authority has supplied lower-cost electricity to Brookhaven since 1982. Also as part of the agreement, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and the Empire State Develop- ment Corp. (ESDC) will provide incentives worth an additional $2.8 million annually. The joint effort by Brookhaven, NYPA, LIPA and ESDC will reduce Brookhaven’s electric bill by millions of dollars, helping to secure thousands of jobs on Long Island.

TUPPER LAKE: Open House Set for Tri-Lakes Power Line— The public will have an opportunity to learn more about plans for a new power line to improve the reliability of electric service in the Tri-Lakes Region of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and surrounding communities at an open house scheduled here for Friday, June 10. The meeting will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Ivy Terrace Room, 38 Boyer Ave. Under an agreement announced last November by Gov. George Pataki, the villages of Lake Placid and Tupper Lake, NYPA and Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid Company, are working together to ease the region’s electric reliability problems caused by winter weather and increased power use. NYPA will apply for permits for the planned $29 million, 46-kilovolt power line, and Niagara Mohawk will build it. Public comments during and after the open house will assist in the development of an environmental impact statement. A map of the two routes under study will soon be made available at town and village municipal buildings. NYPA supplies the power used by the municipal electric systems serving Lake Placid and Tupper Lake. Information is currently available on the web at www.nypa.gov (click on the Tri-Lakes Electric Reliability Project link). For more information on the open house, contact Steve Ramsey at 1-800-724-0309 or steve.ramsey@nypa.gov.

WESTERN NEW YORK: Power Allocations Help Create 64 Jobs— Two manufacturing companies planning major expansions in Western New York will create a total of 64 jobs with the help of low-cost Power Authority hydroelectric power. Michigan-based Delaco Kasle Steel will create 54 jobs in Buffalo as part of a $14 million investment in facilities and equipment to process steel for the auto industry. Transcedar Industries is undertaking a 15,000-square-foot expansion at its Niagara Falls plant, which makes automotive thermostats and oil caps, and will double its work force of 10. Delaco Kasle will receive 750 kilowatts (kw) of electricity and Transcedar 100 kw, both from a block of low-cost Expansion Power, produced at the Niagara Power Project for companies that create jobs in Western New York. The two power allocations were recommended by the Western New York Advisory Group, consisting of NYPA, Niagara Mohawk, the Empire State Development Corp. and the Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, and approved by NYPA trustees.

GREEN ISLAND: Economical Power Aids Semiconductor Firm— A manufacturer of materials for a new generation of semiconductors will use an allocation of low-cost Power Authority electricity to create 57 new jobs in Green Island as it expands its production capacity. NYPA trustees approved a 300-kilowatt allocation to the Green Island Power Authority, the village’s municipal electric system, for use by Crystal IS, which is relocating from nearby Watervliet and adding to its existing work force of 17. Crystal IS currently occupies 6,000 square feet in a building at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute designed for start-up businesses. Its new facility in Green Island has 10,500 square feet. The total relocation investment exceeds $1 million. The economical electricity for Crystal IS is from a block of power reserved for economic development in areas served by New York’s 51 municipal electric systems and rural cooperatives. During the past two years, NYPA also allocated power through the Green Island municipal electric system for expansions at Silhouette Optical, the Case Group and Sealy Mattress.

MASSENA: NYPA Sponsors Heritage Festival Concert, Fireworks— This year’s Heritage Festival Weekend, scheduled for June 3-5, was to feature a free Saturday night concert and fireworks display sponsored by the Power Authority. Coordinated by the Greater Massena Chamber of Commerce, the 26th annual festival was slated to include a parade, a craft show, carnival rides and a multicultural dining experience. On Friday, NYPA invited the public to a sneak preview of its not-yet-opened Hawkins Point Visitors Center for a showcase of emerging artists and performers. The new visitors center, scheduled for an official opening this summer, will replace the center originally located inside NYPA’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project. That facility was closed for security reasons after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. On Saturday, the Power Authority was slated to present a free night of classic and contemporary jazz tunes by the Wally Seibel All-Star Big Band at Massena Springs Park, followed by fireworks over Bushnell Field.

LEWISTON: Plans Under Way for NYPA-Sponsored Jazz Fest— Now in its fourth year, the Historic Lewiston Jazz Festival, scheduled for Aug. 25-28, promises to be bigger and better than ever. As a founding sponsor of the summer event, NYPA has redesigned the festival’s website, www.lewistonjazz.com, to provide information on the sights, sounds and experiences awaiting participants. More than 150 musicians will perform throughout the Village of Lewiston this year amid displays of antiques and classic cars, and culinary offerings. In addition to NYPA, the festival’s primary sponsors are the Lower Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce and the Village and Town of Lewiston. More than 30 other businesses and organizations have also joined in to sponsor this year’s event. In 2004, 30,000 attendees pumped $800,000 into the local economy. Lewiston is home to the Power Authority’s Niagara Power Project and its admission-free Power Vista visitors center.

In the Community: An exhibit on NYPA’s Niagara Power Project visitors center was scheduled to be on view at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center in connection with National Trails Day, Niagara Falls, June 4….Staff members at the Power Authority’s Clark Energy Center in Marcy volunteered to help out at the Children's Miracle Network (CMN) Telethon to benefit children's and maternity services at Faxton-St. Luke's Healthcare, New Hartford, June 3….NYPA presented exhibits on the visitors centers at its Niagara and Blenheim-Gilboa power projects at the Saratoga Dressage, a Power Authority co-sponsored event in support of the Saratoga Association of Retarded Citizens, May 28-30….The Power Authority displayed an electric vehicle at the New York City Parks and Recreation Department’s 17th Annual Vehicle & Equipment Show, Randall’s Island, May 18.