Executive Speeches

Remarks of Eugene W. Zeltmann, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority, at Governor Pataki’s announcement of the Tri-Lakes Power Agreement, Tupper Lake, New York

Governor Pataki's press release

November 24, 2004

Thank you, Senator (Betty) Little.  We appreciate your vital role—and the leadership of Governor Pataki—in forging the agreement that we mark today.

And thank you, Mayor (Sandra) Strader, for playing host on this very auspicious occasion.

Back in January, I joined Senator Little and Mayor Strader on a snowy day here in Tupper Lake.  We were together to announce the donation of two diesel generators to the village for use as backup power sources at times of peak winter demand.

The Power Authority had worked with Governor Pataki and Senator Little to arrange funding for the generators.  But we knew they weren’t the ultimate answer.  As I said at the time, we viewed them as “a short-term solution to a longstanding problem.”

Today—as the Governor has announced—we have the long-term solution.

The Power Authority is delighted to be a party to the agreement that has brought us to this point—and that offers such promise for the Tri-Lakes Region.

We appreciate the efforts of Niagara Mohawk, Mayor Strader, Mayor Roby Politi of Lake Placid and your state legislators in working with us to resolve a number of complex issues.

Special thanks as well to Tupper Lake’s own Jim Ellis and to Charley Fox of the Governor’s Office and John Hamor of our NYPA staff.  All were committed to a positive outcome and made extraordinary contributions to achieving it.

This was truly a cooperative initiative.  But—for all that went into it—it could not have succeeded without the determination and vision of Governor Pataki, who insisted on a fair and comprehensive settlement that would meet the needs of the region’s residents and businesses.

This agreement is particularly meaningful to the Power Authority because the Tupper Lake and Lake Placid municipal systems are among our oldest and most valued customers.  In fact—under contract extensions that the Governor approved last year—they and the state’s other municipal electric systems and rural cooperatives will be receiving our low-cost Niagara hydroelectric power through at least 2025.

We know, though, that these long-term allocations are just one part of the power supply equation. Our new agreement focuses on the two others:  strengthening the transmission and distribution system and making maximum use of energy efficiency and clean, new power sources.

The Power Authority is already preparing for the licensing of the new transmission line on an environmentally acceptable route.

And we’re particularly excited about our role in the distributed generation and energy efficiency projects that will help to meet the region’s power needs until the line and other transmission improvements are completed—and after that as well.

We can now look with confidence to a future of secure power supplies for Tupper Lake, Lake Placid and the entire Tri-Lakes Region—to a future in which we will create both a stronger economy and a cleaner environment.

Thanks again to the Governor, to Senator Little and to our partners in this landmark agreement.

And a very happy holiday to all of you.