NEW YORK CITY: Power Program Begins Summer Drive— More than 100 energy and facilities managers from many of the Power Authority’s largest governmental and business customers in New York City gathered to launch the ninth annual summer-long Peak Load Management (PLM) program on March 19. PLM provides financial incentives for participants who reduce electricity use or turn to on-site back-up generation during summer’s hottest days. Participants include the City of New York, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and major schools, businesses and hospitals. PLM, said program manager Aisha Kutter, improves power system reliability and helps NYPA meet in-city electrical capacity requirements. A projected in-city capacity shortage within the next several years “stresses the need for even more participation in these programs, as it can take several years to site and build new generation,” Kutter said. NYPA performs facility audits to determine load-reduction potential, and provides performance evaluation and feedback during the season. PLM participation has grown by an average of 19 percent each year since 1999.

MASSENA: Sale of Surplus Land to Fund Municipal Projects—Proposed public projects in various North Country communities will be supported by proceeds from the sale of surplus properties from the Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project to adjoining private landowners, under a program approved in late March by NYPA trustees. The program was approved after the Power Authority received a funding request from the town of Lisbon for the reconstruction of a bathhouse at the town beach. The other municipalities to participate in the program are the towns of Waddington, Louisville and Massena and the village of Waddington. About 247 acres of surplus properties are intended for the adjoining landowners in Lisbon and the three other municipalities. The parcels are part of the nearly 600 acres of shoreline-area properties that NYPA will convey to the municipalities and adjoining landowners. About 400 acres have already been transferred.

WHITE PLAINS: Long Island Resident Is NYPA’s Black Achiever—The head of the Power Authority’s internal auditing staff has been named NYPA’s 2007 Black Achiever in Industry for assuming the direction of his department at the time of the illness and subsequent death of the group’s former leader. Lesly Pardo, vice president, Internal Audit, was among those honored in Manhattan in late March at the Harlem YMCA’s 38th National Salute to Black Achievers in Industry. Pardo, of North Bellmore, Long Island, was credited with seamlessly maintaining the department’s critical auditing functions and working with NYPA’s senior management, while assuring that all of his group’s performance goals were met. A manager at the time, Pardo has since been promoted to vice president.

NEW YORK CITY: NYPA, Subaru Demonstrate Electric Vehicles—The Power Authority is joining with Subaru to help demonstrate two advanced-battery electric vehicles, which will be placed in New York City government fleets later this year. The Subaru R1e features lithium ion battery technology that can charge overnight by plugging into a standard 110-volt outlet. It can also be “quick-charged” to 80 percent capacity in only 15 minutes with additional charging equipment. The two-seat vehicles can reach speeds of up to 65 miles per hour with a range of up to 50 miles, a good fit for urban fleet applications with low daily mileage. The announcement of the demonstration was made on the eve of the New York International Auto Show in March.

LEWISTON: Niagara Project Marks Construction Milestone— NYPA observed the 50th anniversary of the start of construction of the Niagara Power Project with a presentation March 29 at the Power Vista visitors center by Ken Glennon, an author who worked on building the massive power plant. Another commemorative event is an art exhibit through April showcasing seven paintings by the late Polly King. King, who lived in Niagara Falls, depicted various stages of the project’s construction, from March 1958 until its completion in October 1962. The effort involved as many as 11,700 workers. When built, the Niagara project was the largest hydroelectric development in the Western World, and stands today as the biggest electricity producer in New York State, supplying some of the nation’s least-expensive electricity. The power project received a new 50-year federal operating license in 2007.

MASSENA: Grants Approved From NYPA Environmental Fund—Four projects that will contribute to understanding of the St. Lawrence River ecosystem are the first to benefit from the St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund (SLRREF), which NYPA established as part of the relicensing of the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project in 2003. The SLRREF board in March approved $70,171 in funding for the St. Lawrence County Youth Bureau, Friends of the Robert Moses State Park Nature Center, the Great Rivers Center at Clarkson University, and St. Lawrence University. The proposed projects will also receive $31,100 in matching funds from other sources.

NORTH BLENHEIM: NYPA Donates Computers to Arboretum—Students participating in educational programs at the Landis Arboretum can now use two reconditioned computers, courtesy of the Power Authority and New York State Assemblyman Peter Lopez. The donation is part of NYPA’s efforts to assist educational programs throughout the area. Such programs, geared toward elementary students and the public, are a major feature at the Arboretum, a public garden on 548 acres overlooking the Schoharie Valley near Esperance. The various activities and workshops include botanical drawing classes, garden and trail tours, astronomy nights and bird watching