Candidates Want Powerline Details
By Tom Grace

Cooperstown News Bureau - April 5, 2006

Candidates for the 24th Congressional District seat long held by Sherwood Boehlert, R-New Hartford, said Monday they were seeking more information about a proposal to build a $1 billion electric transmission line across the
district.

Boehlert, 69, announced last month that he will retire at the end of the year.

The proposal, publicized last week by New York Regional Interconnect Inc. of Albany, calls for building a 200-mile, 400-kilovolt line from the town of Marcy, near Utica, to the town of New Windsor in Orange County.

Company officials say the line is needed to send more electricity to New York City and Long Island. The company has suggested two routes the power line might follow, one of which runs through the city of
Norwich.

Republican Brad Jones of Auburn, the first candidate to announce for the congressional seat, said, "I’d like to know more about it, but my first thought is that it would be nice if we could tap into it upstate and provide power for industry here."

Jones said that if the transmission line could lower power costs upstate and its negative effects were mitigated, "this could be a win-win situation for us."

State Sen. Raymond Meier, R-Western, who entered the race three days after Boehlert announced his retirement, said he was seeking information Monday from NYRI and the state’s Public Service Commission.

"I think it’s too early to judge the project," he said. "No one even knows at this point if it’s going to be built, but I want to find out more about it."

Meier said he plans to meet with local officials along the transmission line’s proposed paths to hear and consider their opinions.

Democratic candidate Leon Koziol, a lawyer from Utica, said he wants to learn more and is "very concerned about the possible health effects of this proposal."

"I wouldn’t want to see a large transmission line like that run next to schools or residences," Koziol said, and if the line is built, it should "go through open country as much as possible."

When the project was announced last week, NYRI said its two proposed routes run largely along railroad and utility easements, following rail tracks or existing electric and gas lines.

Candidate Michael Arcuri, a Democrat and Oneida County district attorney, said, "At first blush, it seems like a good idea, but I want to hear the details. I’d like to know exactly where they plan to run it and also how it might affect our electric costs upstate."

Democratic candidate Les Roberts, of German, said, "New Yorkers are naturally concerned with the efficiency of the grid and the cost of power. As a former student at St. Lawrence University, I remember the social upheaval and environmental consequences of the 760 kilovolt line put through the North Country.

"I think we all need to learn more about the environmental effects of the power line along whichever route NYRI chooses," he said. "There is a tradeoff here between local jobs and local disruption, and the ultimate decision must come via local public hearings."

A fourth Democrat who had been running for the office, former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler, withdrew from the race last week.

Anne Dalton, a spokeswoman for the state’s Public Service Commission, said Monday that NYRI has yet to file its proposal with the state.

In response to questions, Dalton said she was not sure whether NYRI would have the ability to acquire land via eminent domain to secure its route from Marcy to New Windsor.

The issue is likely to arise after the proposal is filed with the PSC, she said.