The New York Regional Interconnect, Inc. (NYRI) will provide testimony during a public meeting being hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in New York City today. The meeting is part of a series of public meetings being held during the 60-day public comment period on the National Interest Electrical Transmission Corridors (NIETC) that DOE proposed in draft form on April 26.

The corridors are geographical areas that the DOE has designated as congested because of inadequate electrical transmission infrastructure. The designations reflect the findings of the DOE's 2006 Electric Transmission Congestion Study about significant deficiencies in New York State's current infrastructure for the transmission and distribution of electricity. Similar findings later emerged in the 2007 report from New York Independent System Operators (NYISO) (The NYISO 2007 Reliability Needs Assessment -- March 16, 2007).

The reports suggest that if the construction of new electric transmission infrastructure and other measures are not initiated soon to become operational in the next few years, urban areas within the designated corridors will inevitably face severe electricity reliability problems, including routine blackouts.

"No one disputes the urgent need for expanding and modernizing New York State's transmission infrastructure," said William May, project manager for NYRI. "The current system is simply too old and overloaded, raising a significant risk of supply disruptions with devastating ripple effects. New, efficient transmission lines would improve the reliability of the transmission system, and they would also yield significant environmental benefits, including the development of clean renewable sources, such as wind and hydropower. Importantly, new transmission would help to lower energy costs for the state as they ease congestion, which currently contributes to raising New York State's electricity rates to third highest in the U.S., behind Alaska and Hawaii."

"It's understandable that no one wants to see new lines in their own backyard," May continued. "That's why transmission line companies like NYRI try to work fairly with people whose properties could be impacted, and we are doing our best to mitigate any impacts"

"But legitimate concerns are being fanned into unreasonable positions, and NIMBY opposition to new power lines scares elected officials into policy choices that threaten our vital power supply. While the legitimate interests of the few must be dealt with forthrightly, their interests cannot be allowed to commandeer the energy security of millions of people," May concluded.