Report: Possible benefits, problems with NYRI power line proposal

WASHINGTON — A report by congressional investigators concludes power lines like the proposed New York Regional Interconnect in upstate New York could make the electric grid more efficient, but could also pose safety and security risks. The Government Accountability Office released the report earlier this month, examining the possible effects of building a line like NYRI. The company wants to build a 190-mile, high voltage power line running from Utica into Orange County to feed the growing power demands of the suburbs around New York City and alleviate some of the congestion in the electric grid. “When you look at the report as a whole, it clearly confirms many of the things that we have talked about in terms of the damage (NYRI) would do,” said Rep. Michael Arcuri of Utica who sought the review. NYRI spokesman David Kalson said the report “presents both sides of this important issue, a good way to help make infrastructure projects, such as transmission lines, better projects,” adding that NYRI is “critical to New York’s energy future.” The report found potential advantages of a high voltage, direct current line include: • Decreased congestion and lowered costs to consumers. • Lower transmission costs over long distances. • Easier construction and maintenance when built along existing transportation routes, like a rail line or highway. Potential disadvantages, the GAO found, were: • Lower property values along the route. • Reduced incentives to conserve energy. • Some safety or security risks in having power lines so close to transportation routes. Many communities along the line’s path are trying to stop the project, saying their property values will be hurt by ugly power lines that actually increase the cost of electricity in their towns. Arcuri, along with fellow upstate Democratic Reps. Maurice Hinchey and John Hall have vigorously opposed the plan. Advocates say the line will be an economic boon to both the communities along the way and the state as a whole by improving the electric grid and easing some of the power crunch that hits the New York City area on hot summer days when demand for energy is at its peak. The GAO report does not come out in favor of a particular approach, or even analyze the NYRI project in particular, but instead looks at the ramifications of building a high power line on top of an existing railway or roadway. NYRI proposes to build the line mostly along old railroad lines. Gov. Eliot Spitzer has suggested running it along the New York State Thruway instead.