The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) today ordered further review of the agricultural impacts of a proposed substation to be built on a Monroe County farm as part of an electric transmission project designed to increase the reliability of the supply of electricity to the Rochester area.

Earlier this year, the Rochester-area reliability project was approved by the Commission to ensure and increase the safe and reliable service of electricity in the region and to accommodate its growth and economic development years into the future.  Specifically, the project calls for the construction of approximately 21 miles of new 115 kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, reconstruction of  two miles of an existing 115 kV line, a new 1.9 mile 345 kV line, a new 345 kV/115 kV substation, and the improvement of  three existing substations, in the Towns of Chili, Gates, and Henrietta and City of Rochester, Monroe County.

The new facilities are intended to provide for needed reliability for the Rochester Gas & Electric Corporation (RG&E) system. Without the new facilities, the system’s ability to meet customers’ electricity needs could be compromised in the event of unexpected equipment failure or other factors impacting the delivery of electricity.  RG&E estimates the project will cost approximately $254 million.

On April 18, 2013, the Commission issued a decision granting a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need to RG&E to build the project. However, members of the Krenzer family, who own farmland impacted by the project, and the Town of Chili, filed petitions for rehearing and raised questions concerning the impacts of a substation location on agricultural land uses.

The Commission’s decision today sends the case back to the parties, including the Krenzers and the town, to examine the impacts of the substation location on the Krenzers’ farming activities. The Commission will appoint an administrative law judge to work with the parties in an effort to find a consensus solution while still meeting the electric reliability needs of Rochester residents. The judge will report back to the Commission on the results of the parties’ efforts within 30 days.