THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK
ALBANY
DIDI BARRETT
Assemblymember 106th District
September 2, 2014 Kathleen H. Burgess Secretary New York State
Public Service Commission Three Empire State Plaza Albany, New York
12223-1350 Re: Public Service Commissions recent filing, 12-T-0502,
on Advisory Staff Recommendations for Procedural Process Proposals
regarding Cost Recovery, Cost Allocation, and Risk-Sharing for the
Energy Highway Project Applications. Dear Secretary Burgess, For
nearly a year now, communities in my Assembly District have been
meeting to gather information and share their concerns about the
Governors proposed Energy Highway which threatens our homes, farms,
businesses, viewsheds and tourism economy here in the beautiful
Hudson Valley. Hundreds of people have attended these meetings in
small, rural towns in Dutchess and Columbia Counties and the
sentiments have been overwhelmingly consistent in their concerns.
Despite this, the newly proposed outline appears not to have taken
into consideration any of those issues raised during these meetings
and in the many letters sent to the PSC over these past months. Key
among those concerns is that we have not yet been shown a clear
need for this Energy Highway nor a sense of where this project fits
in the larger context of the states energy policiese.g. microgrids,
Reforming the Energy Vision (REV). Further, there is no recognition
of the significant economic stress we are already seeing on our
local businesses, property owners, and impacted communities because
of the tremendous uncertainty raised by the proposed Energy
Highway. Further unsettling are the lack of clarity for weighing
criteria during the ranking process that the PSC will engage in
with NYISO; worries about NYISOs potential industry biases; and the
new recommendation that 90 percent of the cost be allocated
downstate, without defining what that means geographically. In just
this past year my constituents have been hit by a record-breaking
winter, spiking utility costs, the threat of monster power lines, a
senseless new capacity zone imposed by FERC, and a local energy
tax. We cannot be expected to shoulder yet another cost, especially
for something that will impact our region so negatively.
CHAIR Subcommittee on Outreach
and Oversight of Senior Citizen Programs
COMMITTEES
Aging Agriculture
Economic Development, Job Creation and Industry
Mental Health Tourism
Veterans Affairs
LEGISLATIVE CAUCUSES Legislative Womens Caucus
I urge the PSC to seriously value the compelling concerns raised
by the residents of Dutchess and Columbia Counties. Tourism,
agriculture and outdoor activities are critical economic engines
for this region and these power lines have the potential to
seriously damage those local industries.
In addition, I respectfully request that the comment period be
extended another 7 to 10 days since these recommendations came out
in the middle of August, when many people take their vacations, and
the September 2 deadline falls immediately following the Labor Day
weekend. Thank you for your time and consideration. If I can be of
any assistance, please feel free to contact my office.
Sincerely,
Didi Barrett Member of Assembly, 106th District CC: David
Prestemon, Administrative Law Judge Audrey Zibelman, Commissioner
Tom Congdon, Deputy Secretary for Energy
ALBANY OFFICE: Room 553, Legislative Office Building, Albany,
New York 12248 518-455-5177, FAX: 518-455-5418 DISTRICT OFFICE: 12
Raymond Ave, Suite 105, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603 845-454-1703, FAX:
845-454-2408
751 Warren Street, Hudson, NY 12534 518-828-1961. FAX:
518-828-5329 [email protected]
