 |
|||
|
For Immediate Release: October 7, 2020 John B. Rhodes, Chair
Contact: James Denn | James.Denn@dps.ny.gov | (518) 474-7080
20084/19-T-0684 October 07, 2020
|
|||
Virtual Public Statement Hearings to be Held on New York Transco’s Energy Solution Transmission Project |
|||
ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced that it will hold two virtual public statement hearings related to the request by New York Transco LLC, (Transco) for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) to construct the New York Energy Solution Project.
The transmission project would consist of installation of a new, 54.5-mile 345 kilovolt (kV) electric transmission line to be co-located with existing 115 kV electric transmission lines on new monopoles between a new 345 kV Knickerbocker switching station in the Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, a rebuilt 115 kV Churchtown switching station in the Town of Claverack, Columbia County, and the existing 345 kV and 115 kV Pleasant Valley substations in the Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County; replacement of 2.2 miles of 115 kV electric transmission line in an existing right-of-way that extends from the existing 115 kV Blue Stores substation to a tap with the existing National Grid #8 115 kV LaFarge to Pleasant Valley line, and installation of a 0.8-mile double-circuit 345 kV electric transmission line to run between the existing 345 kV Pleasant Valley Substation and a new 345 kV Van Wagner capacitor bank station.
The project would be in existing electric transmission corridors or on adjacent utility-owned land in the Town of Schodack in Rensselaer County; the Towns Stuyvesant, Stockport, Ghent, Claverack, Livingston, Gallatin, and Clermont in Columbia County; and the Towns of Milan, Clinton, and Pleasant Valley in Dutchess County. In addition, Transco proposes to work with Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation to develop additional, related infrastructure upgrades previously required by the Commission.
On September 9, 2020, a joint proposal, signed by New York Transco, trial staff of the Department of Public Service, Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Agriculture and Markets, Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 97 was filed in the above case. The joint proposal contains the terms, conditions, practices, and guidelines recommended by the signatory parties to construct the project.
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that virtual public informational forums and public statement hearings on the proposed Project will be held before Administrative Law Judge Anthony Belsito of the Department of Public Service. The public informational forums will begin at the times shown below. A public statement hearing will immediately follow each of the public informational forums.
Any person wishing to provide a public statement on the record at the hearing must pre-register to do so by 5:00 P.M. on Friday, October 9, 2020.
To register electronically: Participants who would like to provide a statement and will login to a hearing electronically may register to do so by visiting www.webex.com, where they should click “Join” at the top right-hand corner of the screen, enter the appropriate event number listed above, and provide all requested information. When logging in to a hearing on the appropriate date and time of the hearing, participants will be asked to “select audio system.” It is recommended that participants opt to have the system “call me” or “call using computer.” The “call me” option will require participants to enter their phone numbers.
To register by phone: Any participant who is not able to login to a hearing electronically may participate by phone. Call-in participants wishing to provide a statement must register to do so in advance by calling 1-800-342-3330, where they should follow prompts to the appropriate hearing and provide the following information: first and last name, address, and phone number. On the appropriate date and time of a hearing, all call-in users should dial 518-549-0500 and enter the relevant access code listed above.
Each public statement hearing will be held open until everyone who has registered to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements to submit comments into the record have been made. Time limits may be set for each speaker as necessary. It is recommended that lengthy comments be submitted in writing and summarized for oral presentation. A verbatim transcript of the public statement hearings will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.
Disabled persons requiring special accommodations should call the Department of Public Service’s Human Resources Management Office at (518) 474-2520 as soon as possible. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711. Individuals with difficulty understanding or reading English are encouraged to call the Department at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this notice.
Other Ways to Comment
For those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing, there are several other ways to provide your comments. Comments should refer to Case “19-T-0684.” Although comments will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, they are requested by November 16, 2020.
Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, then click on “Search” and enter the case number, “19-T-0684” in the “Search by Case Number” field, and then click on “Post Comments” at the top right of the page; or send comments by email to the Secretary to the Commission at secretary@dps.ny.gov.
Alternatively, comments may be mailed to Hon. Michelle L. Phillips, Secretary, Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350. All written comments will become part of the record considered by the Commission and may be accessed on the Department of Public Service website by searching the case number, as described above, and clicking on the “Public Comments” tab.
Toll-Free Opinion Line: You may call the Commission’s Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120. This number is set up to take comments about pending cases from in-State callers, 24-hours a day. These comments are not transcribed verbatim, but a summary is provided to the Commission. |
|||
|
###
|
|||