THE ASSEMBLY

STATE OF NEW YORK

ALBANY

DIDI BARRETT
Assemblymember 106
th
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, J ob
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






























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barrettd@assembly.state.ny.us