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Cuomo's Regulatory Chief Sets Precedent for Protecting Environment and Ratepayers

11/24/2014

 
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Ned Sullivan 
President, Scenic Hudson

Cuomo's Regulatory Chief Sets Precedent for Protecting Environment and Ratepayers

Posted: 11/24/2014 12:21 pm EST Updated: 11/24/2014 12:22 pm EST

New York's Public Service Commission (PSC) recently rejected a proposal to build an energy-intensive and polluting desalination plant on the Hudson River, finding there is no near-term need for the facility to meet Rockland County's drinking water demands. Instead of moving ahead with this project--which would have withdrawn and processed 10 million gallons of brackish water from the Hudson each day and spewed 100,000 gallons of briny wastewater back into Haverstraw Bay, one of the river's prime fish habitats--the PSC directed the private water company seeking to construct the plant to investigate water conservation and other sustainable measures. The PSC also declined to authorize a $60-million ratepayer surcharge the water company sought to recoup its planning costs--before a single shovel hit the ground.

PSC Chair Audrey Zibelman, appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, showed through this decision that she has the courage to stand up to a major industrial company pursuing an ill-conceived project that fails to offer positive benefits and entails high costs, to ratepayers and the environment. This important ruling has implications for another decision facing the PSC--whether to green-light plans to build new high-voltage transmission lines through the Hudson Valley under Gov. Cuomo's Energy Highway initiative.

These lines, expected to rise up to 165 feet, are proposed to cross 25 towns in seven Hudson Valley counties, slicing through farms, homes, businesses, historic sites and spectacular views--the foundation of the region's rebounding economy. For the last year, the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition--a broad-based group of elected officials, businesses and conservation organizations partnered with Scenic Hudson--has advocated for less expensive and more sustainable options to strengthen New York's power grid without damaging our region.

Gov. Cuomo has publicly acknowledged he understands our concerns about the lines' impacts on views, property values and the economy. In his 2014 State of the State address last January, he expressed a preference for having lines built within existing utility corridors. But in the year since, the PSC has failed to make this a requirement of any project that's ultimately approved.

Beyond these concerns, there's a more basic question: Is there a need for the new transmission lines?

Under the planning process of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees the state's electric grid, there are three possible rationales to authorize energy projects--1) to improve the reliability of the grid; 2) to provide economic benefits; or 3) to meet a public policy goal. The proposed transmission lines fail on all three counts.

Let's explore them one by one:

First, reliability--or ensuring the lights stay on: The NYISO recently stated that New York's electrical grid meets reliability standards. According to its latest Needs Assessment, the earliest date more electric capacity might be required is 2022. And just last week, the NYISO withdrew its request for proposal for new projects to meet reliability criteria--issued less than two months ago--indicating the system has sufficient existing facilities.

Second reason, economic benefits: A major goal of the Energy Highway is to reduce electricity costs in New York City and the surrounding Metropolitan Area by increasing transmission capacity to relieve a "a bottleneck" that makes it expensive to carry power from central New York to downstate customers. But congestion costs--the price of meeting consumers' needs based on available electricity--have been decreasing for the last five years, a trend expected to continue. This means that annual expenses to operate and maintain the proposed $1.3-billion transmission lines would very likely be higher than the savings they generate. With ratepayers paying 90 percent of construction costs and 80 percent of cost overruns, the utility developers would be receiving a generous return on investment with almost no risk. Homeowners and businesses would pay the cost with no benefit.

Finally, public policy: There is no policy--no local, state or federal law--that justifies building new transmission lines through the Hudson Valley.

Dr. Gidon Eshel, a Bard College geophysics professor and an expert in data analysis and efficiency metrics, conducted his own, independent study this past summer. He relied on NYISO data and additional factors that could affect future energy demand, including climate change, demographic trends in energy use and different scenarios for continued operation of the Indian Point nuclear facility in Westchester County. Dr. Eshel concluded there is no need for the new transmission lines for more than two decades.

Gov. Cuomo and his PSC Chair have launched a parallel proceeding to the Energy Highway known as the Reforming the Energy Vision, an unprecedented plan to reward utilities that tap power sources close to customers and help them increase efficiency and reduce electricity demand, especially during peak periods. The Cuomo administration's "energy czar," Richard Kauffman, laid the groundwork for achieving this vision by establishing the NY Green Bank. It's attracting private financial partners to invest in clean energy projects, with the first seven projects to receive funding announced last month.

Just as Gov. Cuomo's PSC did the right thing in saying "no" to a desalination plant that would hurt ratepayers' pocketbooks and mar the environment, the PSC should steer the proposed new transmission lines toward the off-ramp of the Energy Highway. Sometime in 2015, the commission should reach important conclusions about the Reforming the Energy Vision--no doubt providing a plan for meeting New York's energy needs while protecting the beauty, integrity and economy of the Hudson Valley.





Poughkeepsie Journal - Researcher: power line expansion not needed

11/20/2014

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ANNANDALE – Bard College research professor of environmental science and physics Gidon Eshel, Ph.D., an independent geophysicist, spoke at Bard College earlier this month to showcase his findings that existing power lines can meet our region's peak electricity-demand needs well into the future.

The presentation was hosted by members of the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition, a collaboration of community groups and officials partnered with Scenic Hudson in working to protect Hudson Valley communities from potential negative effects of new high-voltage power lines. The state's Public Service Commission is seeking to expand 150 miles of transmission lines that would pass through seven counties and 25 towns in the valley, ultimately reaching their destination in Dutchess County.

More than 250 people attended the presentation in the Bertelsmann Campus Center. Eshel told the group that existing infrastructure can handle downstate peak power loads until at least 2040. He devoted more than 350 hours over the summer to the research, analyzing data on mean and peak energy usage, electricity congestion, climate trends and regional demographics. His preliminary analyses have led him to three key variables determining downstate peak loads: total downstate population, annual maximum temperatures and population age distribution.

"There's simply no need for the proposed power lines at any time between now and 2040. The population rise in New York is not continuing at the pace that it has historically exhibited. In addition, the ratio of those ages 25 to 45 to those ages 45 to 70 has been steadily declining in recent decades, but this is expected to reverse in coming decades," Eshel said, according to a news release, "which is important because the young use less energy per capita than the middle aged. Even assuming no energy efficiency gains or renewable energy proliferation, you still see no need for this project."

A geophysicist with expertise in data analysis and efficiency metrics, Eshel took on the project as an independent researcher. His property could be affected by the proposed power lines, so he was motivated as a credentialed professional researcher to prepare a scientific analysis of the consumer-demand issue. While Eshel is not a member of the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition, members of the coalition were at the presentation to provide information about the proposed high-voltage power lines and how citizens can be involved in the regulatory review process.

"The Energy Highway threatens the Hudson Valley's beauty and farmland with towering new transmission lines," Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said in a news release. "Governor Cuomo has launched another initiative to reform New York's power grid through innovation and conservation. Gidon Eshel's compelling presentation shows new transmission lines are not needed. As a result, we can immediately begin the transition to a 21st-century energy system, putting New York in the national vanguard and saving the beauty and economy of the Hudson Valley."

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