Virtual Public Statement Hearing Regarding Proposed Upstate Transmission Line

Public Comment Sought on NY Transco’s Plans for 54-Mile Transmission Line Running Between Rensselaer and Dutchess Counties

ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced that it will hold a virtual public statement hearing on Thursday, January 28, 2021, regarding a petition filed by New York Transco LLC (Transco), seeking a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Commission. Transco is proposing to construct and operate the New York Energy Solutions project and to exercise rights and privileges under certain municipal road use agreements. The project consists of the following primary components:

Installation of a new, 54.5-mile 345 kV electric transmission line that will be co-located with 115 kV electric transmission lines that will replace the existing 115 kV transmission lines between the new 345 kV Knickerbocker switching station to be owned by Transco and located in the Town of Schodack, Rensselaer County, the rebuilt Churchtown switching station to be owned by Transco and located in the Town of Claverack, Columbia County, and the existing 345 kV and 115 kV Pleasant Valley Substations owned by Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison) and Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (Central Hudson), respectively, and located in the Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County;

Replacement of 2.2 miles of 115 kV electric transmission line in an existing National Grid right-of-way that extends from the 115 kV Blue Stores Substation to a tap with the existing National Grid #8 115 kV Lafarge to Pleasant Valley line; and

Reconductoring of two 345 kV electric transmission lines on existing structures between the existing 345 kV Pleasant Valley Substation and the new 345 kV Van Wagner Capacitor Bank Station to-be owned by Transco and located in the Town of Pleasant Valley, Dutchess County.

The project will be located in the Town of Schodack in Rensselaer County; the Towns of Stuyvesant, Stockport, Ghent, Claverack, Livingston, Gallatin, and Clermont in Columbia County; and the Towns of Milan, Clinton, and Pleasant Valley in Dutchess County. The project will be constructed within existing utility rights-of-way or on utility-owned or controlled land.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that a virtual public statement hearing will be held before the assigned Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), Gregg Sayre, as follows:

DATE: Thursday, January 28, 2021

TIME: 4:00 P.M.

Electronic Access: www.webex.com

Event Number: 179 062 4796

Password: Jan28-4pm

Phone-Only Access: (518) 549-0500

Access Code: 179 062 4796

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 Wednesday, January 27, 2021.

To register electronically: Participants who would like to provide a statement and will login to the 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 the hearing at the date and time noted above, 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 the 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 by 5:00 P.M. on January 27, 2021, where they should follow prompts to the hearing and provide the following information: first and last name, address, and phone number.

On the date and time of the hearing, all call-in users should dial 518-549-0500 and enter the relevant access code listed above.

The 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 hearing will be made for inclusion in the record of this case.

Persons with disabilities 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

Those who prefer not to present comments at the public statement hearing may provide comments in several other ways. Comments should refer to Case “20-E-0551.”

Internet or Mail: Go to www.dps.ny.gov, then click on “Search” and enter the case number (20-E-0551) 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 the 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.

Although comments will be accepted throughout the pendency of this proceeding, they are requested by February 5, 2021.

PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that a procedural conference will be held immediately following the virtual public statement hearing, as part of the same teleconference.

The principal purposes of the procedural conference are to identify any potential parties and provide interested persons an opportunity to present and explain any proposals regarding the procedures they believe should be followed in this case by the ALJ and Commission including, but not limited to, whether any issues of fact presented by the petition or public comments warrant an evidentiary hearing. Other procedural issues also may be addressed.

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