News Archive - August 2006
Thursday August 31, 2006
NYRI fight fires up Bonacic campaign
Tuesday, state Senate hopeful Susan Zimet offered an alternative to laying high-voltage power lines across central New York: Put them down the Thruway instead.
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State Senate gives cash to fight power line proposal
The state Senate will give up to $1 million in taxpayer dollars to help counties fight a proposal to build an electric-transmission line from the Utica area to Orange County, the Senate majority leader announced Wednesday.
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Tuesday August 29, 2006
Spitzer Took Money From Controversial Electric Plan
THIS ARTICLE WAS RETRACTED BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Tuesday evening.
Eliot Spitzer's campaign WAS NOT given money by NYRI.
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Is power line not so crucial?
In the debate over how to meet the future energy needs of the New York City metropolitan area, there's a new set of initials in play "NYISO" and they've at the very least taken some wind out of the sails of the other initials "NYRI" that have been dominating the discussion.
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Hamptonburgh residents join battle against NYRI power line
On Sunday, Tim Doran got some bad news and started knocking on doors.
"Thirty-nine out of 40 houses," Doran said, "nobody knew anything."
Doran and his wife, Judy, live on East Green Road.
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Thursday August 27, 2006
Wind farm debate has wide reach
The wind energy company that has proposed building wind turbines in rural Herkimer County is relying heavily on support from communities in the Lower Hudson Valley for fundin.
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Sunday August 26, 2006
NYRI STRUGGLE - Foes toe power lines at meeting
Opponents of the New York Regional Interconnect power lines rallied yesterday in the largest municipality to be affected by the project, hoping to pick up more grass-roots support among residents and businessmen.
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Build power plants near the needs
Generate power close to where the needs are.
That's the general advice from the New York Power Authority, the state's largest power producer, and the state Independent System Operator, which oversees the state's electric grid.
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Thursday August 25, 2006
Candidates weigh in on power line, economy
Capitol Bureau reporter John Milgrim recently posed the following questions to gubernatorial candidates John Faso, a Republican, and Eliot Spitzer and Tom Suozzi, both Democrats. Their answers and Milgrim's analysis are as follows ...
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Hinchey blasts NYRI, Bush, Pataki and energy deregulation
Congressman Maurice Hinchey lashed out at Republicans last week for the poor state of energy infrastructure in the United States. He blamed the Bush Administration for the "fundamental failure of a market-based, poorly regulated energy industry from New York to California," and he blamed the Pataki Administration for deregulation in New York that has led to increased electricity costs and "the continued lack of meaningful customer choice."
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Thursday August 24, 2006
Power authority: Generate energy where needed
Representatives from the New York State Power Authority, the state Independent System Operator and other groups involved with the state's power grid spoke in detail Wednesday about how the proposed New York Regional Interconnection power line might affect the state's energy distribution system.
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NYRI power line is not needed, says NYISO report
The New York Independent Operator Wednesday issued its Comprehensive Reliability Plan that recommends solutions to meet New York's future power needs and the report said there are enough sources to generate electricity for the region for the next 10 years.
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Report outlines power needs
The state needs new power generation, upgrades to the transmission system and more companies volunteering to reduce their usage when demand is high, according to a report released yesterday by the nonprofit organization that operates its electric transmission system.
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Wednesday August 23, 2006
NYISO: All new power demand in downstate New York
New York state companies will need to build three new power plants, delay retiring an old power plant, reduce energy demand, upgrade transmission lines and build new lines in order to meet the need for 3,105 more megawatts of electricity by 2015, according to the New York Independent System Operator.
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NYISO report questions Wallkill power project
The case laid out by New York Regional Interconnect goes something like this: Let us build a 1,200-megawatt power line across the state or the lights will go out in New York City - soon.
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Assembly panel to ask power-line questions
Members of the state Assembly's Standing Committee on Energy will question New York Regional Interconnect officials, as well as representatives from state energy agencies, at a public hearing today on a proposed high-voltage power line.
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Tuesday August 22, 2006
Legal team needed to fight power line
Although a $1 billion power line being proposed by New York Regional Interconnect may not wind up passing through Herkimer County, officials during a public meeting last night at the Frankfort-Schuyler Middle School cafeteria said it could still have dire consequences for local businesses and residents.
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Frankfort wary of power line
Herkimer County residents at a Monday night meeting about the proposed New York Regional Interconnect power line were urged to get more involved in the fight to stop the plan.
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The Challenges Of Finding A Judge For NYRI Lawsuit
The City of Utica has filed suit against NYRI, who wants to put a power line thru the city, and against the railroad that the power line would run along. Now all the city needs is a judge to hear the case.
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Friday August 18, 2006
Both sides heard during Assembly hearing on power line
Ferndale - Testimony at an Assembly Energy Committee hearing, in Ferndale, on the NYRI power line proposal was by invitation only, and the turnout consisted mostly of those scheduled to speak.
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POWER STRUGGLE NYRI says protests shouldn't stop line
Ferndale - Any doubts about the tone of last night's hearing on New York Regional Interconnect didn't last long after Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther's opening salvo blasting the massive power line project that would slice from Utica to New Windsor.
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Power line may affect railroad's tax relief
ROME Before the New York Susquehanna and Western Railway Corp. agreed to allow New York Regional Interconnect to build a high-voltage power line on its land, it should have cleared it with the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency, agency officials said Thursday.
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Wednesday August 16, 2006
Democrats and advocacy groups bash PSC
The agency that will rule first on whether or not the controversial power line project will be built in New York is under fire from Democrats and others who charge that the commission is ill prepared to fulfill its energy oversight role.
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Tuesday August 15, 2006
Joint effort best way to beat NYRI
Tension between Utica Mayor Tim Julian and Oneida County leaders is having an impact on the fight against New York Regional Interconnect's proposed power line.
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Monday August 14, 2006
Utica's move tests power-line coalition
The city's hiring of an attorney in its fight against the proposed power line has prompted a debate about just how unified the region is or should be in the battle.
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Sunday August 13, 2006
New Yorkers lacking energy
Upstaters don't want a new power line running through their back yards. New York City residents don't want new power plants in their neighborhoods.
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Friday August 11, 2006
A vision of actions
Al Gore gets it. Millions of us get what his movie and book, "An Inconvenient Truth," have to say. We just can't live this way anymore.
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Opinion: Energy alternatives
When Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso met with the Press & Sun-Bulletin editorial board on Thursday, he discussed the New York Regional Interconnection plan to build a power line across upstate.
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Opinion: What's up with FERC commish?
As the focus of debate on New York Regional Interconnect's proposed power line shifts slowly but surely from Albany to Washington, D.C., the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission remains annoyingly silent on an issue that could affect the project's fortunes in the nation's capital.
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Thursday August 10, 2006
Herkimer County opposition grows to power line
Seven Herkimer County municipalities have passed resolutions in opposition of the New York Regional Interconnect power-line project, Herkimer County Legislator John Brezinski, D-Frankfort said.
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Wednesday August 9, 2006
Hinchey, Kelly reiterate opposition to NYRI proposal as DOE congestion study is released
House Members Maurice Hinchey (D-Hurley) and Sue Kelly (R-Katonah) Tuesday reiterated their strong opposition to a proposal by New York Regional Interconnect to construct a high voltage direct current transmission line from Marcy in Oneida County to New Windsor in Orange County.
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Expert says U.S. energy study may help NYRI's case
The newly released U.S. Department of Energy report listing our region as part of a heavily congested area for energy use might boost New York Regional Interconnect's chances of receiving approval for its power line, one energy expert said Tuesday.
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Schumer, Clinton: Power line decision should rest with state
The state's two U.S. senators each made statements Tuesday on the U.S. Department of Energy's determination that a large area that includes the proposed New York Regional Interconnection line is heavily congested in terms of energy use.
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Sherburne joins forces with Utica in anti-NYRI motion
In a joint effort with the City of Utica, The Village of Sherburne filed a 71-page response to the state Public Service Commission objecting to New York Regional Interconnect’s request for waivers in their application to build a high power line through both municipalities.
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Tuesday August 8, 2006
Study shows corridor is congested
A U.S. Department of Energy study to be made public today classifies the area from Central New York to New York City as among the most energy congested in the nation.
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Power line opposition continues
As local politicians continue to battle a 200-mile power line proposal, a new study is raising concern.
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John Faso Says the Proposed Power Line is a Flat Out "Bad Idea"
The first gubernatorial candidate has come out against the proposed power line in our area.
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Faso opposes NYRI power line
Republican gubernatorial candidate John Faso Tuesday told the Upstate New York Citizens Alliance that he is opposed to the proposed NYRI power line that would stretch from Oneida to Orange County.
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Federal energy study does not say where power lines should go
A new U.S. Department of Energy study cites power grid congestion in areas including New York, but does not address a controversial proposal for a transmission line from Marcy to Orange County.
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Faso Opposes Power Line Plan As Unfair, Unneeded
A plan to build a "super power line" through several upstate communities to bring more electricity to New York City is not only unfair but unnecessary, governor candidate John Faso said Tuesday.
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Monday August 7, 2006
How power-hungry cities drive projects like NYRI
The $1.6 billion megaproject known as New York Regional Interconnection didn't arrive with the flip of a switch.
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Sunday August 6, 2006
Energy department study could impact proposed power line
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy will release a study that could have a significant impact on the fate of the proposed New York Regional Interconnection power line.
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Saturday August 5, 2006
More Power, But Not From My Backyard
Eve Ann Shwartz's family has owned their farm since 1940. The 1,200 acres rests in the heart of New York state's cattle country and is surrounded by pristine panoramas.
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Company's requests rejected by state
Just one week ago, New York Regional Interconnect's application to build a high-voltage power line from Marcy to the Lower Hudson Valley was sent back for revisions by the state Public Service Commission.
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Friday August 4, 2006
State recommends denying power line requests
The state Public Service Commission has recommended that numerous waiver requests made by New York Regional Interconnect in its application to place a power line from Marcy to the Lower Hudson Valley be denied.
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Federal government may back NYRI
Nearly one year after the federal government passed legislation promoting transmission line projects similar to the New York Regional Interconnection, finalized provisions in the 2005 Energy Policy Act could help ease the financial risk of that investment.
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Thursday August 3, 2006
Power Authority to file as interested party in power line application
The New York Power Authority is planning to file as an interested party in New York Regional Interconnection’s application to place a power line from Marcy to the Lower Hudson Valley, authority President and CEO Timothy S. Carey wrote in an Aug. 2 letter to Utica Mayor Tim Julian.
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NYRI held up, but not stopped, by PSC ruling
Public officials and private activists are applauding last week’s action that put up a hurdle in the path of the company that wants to build a 200-mile power line in New York.
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State Senator Bonacic on the big issues
When New York State Senator John Bonacic turned out for a breakfast speech in Port Jervis last week, he was nattily dressed as always; his familiar tan looked fresh.
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Wednesday August 2, 2006
NYRI can't fight the heat
Officials monitoring the state’s energy supply say high temperatures will result in a record demand of electricity today, breaking the high mark set Tuesday.
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Tuesday August 1, 2006
Locals continue power struggle
Campbell Hall - So many people turned out to blast the power lines that could rise near their homes and in their fields, they had to move outside.
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Meier criticizes an energy commissioner's remarks
State Sen. Ray Meier, R-Western, has written a letter to Joseph T. Kelliher, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman, requesting that a new commission member recuse himself from discussions about the proposed New York Regional Interconnection power line.
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