Executive Speeches

Remarks of Eugene W. Zeltmann, president & chief executive officer of the New York Power Authority, at a press conference in Brentwood, New York

May 29, 2002

(Introduced by Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Chairman Richard Kessel)

Thank you, Chairman Kessel.  I appreciate this opportunity to talk about some of what the New York Power Authority is doing to help meet Long Island’s electricity needs.

Under Governor Pataki’s leadership, NYPA and LIPA have formed an extremely effective partnership on the Island.  LIPA, of course, has the lead role.  But we’re pleased to provide valuable support.

Last year—at LIPA’s request—we quickly installed a small, clean gas-turbine power plant here on the Pilgrim State Hospital grounds to help avert threatened blackouts, brownouts and price spikes at times of peak power use.  This 47-megawatt natural-gas-fueled plant was essential to the all-out effort to keep Long Island’s lights on during last August’s heat wave.  Its operation at other times has benefited the Island by displacing electricity from more-expensive and less-clean sources.

As you may know, we installed 10 other small power plants in New York City last year, and they’ve also made a critical contribution.

We’ve applied the expertise and experience from that project to help LIPA in its program to add 10 more gas-turbine plants on Long Island for this summer.  The units are largely identical to those we put in last year.  Like ours, each will feature more than $5 million worth of the most advanced available air emissions and noise controls.

Having been through it last year, I can tell you that LIPA has done a great job in bringing this project so close to completion in so short a time.Meanwhile, the New York Power Authority continues to play a vital and varied role on Long Island:

• The full output of our 135-megawatt Flynn combined-cycle plant in Holtsville goes to LIPA for use by its customers, as does all the electricity—up to 675 megawatts—carried by our transmission cable under Long Island Sound.

That 800-megawatts-plus can make a big difference.  And it’s become more essential than ever with the loss of the LIPA-Con Edison cable under the Sound.

• We have also invested more than $75 million in energy-efficiency projects at some 340 schools and other public facilities on the Island.  These projects—including extensive work in the Brentwood public schools—cut peak demand for electricity by more than 26 megawatts. They save Long Island taxpayers nearly $12 l/2 million a year.  And they reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by almost 55,000 tons.  These numbers will continue to grow as additional projects are completed.

• We’ve supplemented LIPA’s clean-energy efforts by installing four rooftop solar projects on the Island, including one at Ross High School here in Brentwood.
   

• Low-cost New York Power Authority electricity supplied under Governor Pataki’s Power for Jobs program and other initiatives helps to protect more than 47,000 jobs at close to 90 businesses and non-profit institutions on the Island.
   

• And we’re the main, or only, power source for Long Island’s three municipal electric systems—Freeport, Greenport and Rockville Centre.

I hope this quick summary provides some indication of the New York Power Authority’s efforts to help assure a reliable, economical electricity supply on Long Island.  We value our partnership with LIPA and look forward to continuing and strengthening it on behalf of the Island’s residents and businesses.

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