Newlin pleased with power plan

by Karen Keefe
Lewiston Porter Sentinel, December 10, 2005

Town of Lewiston Supervisor Fred Newlin is pleased with this week’s announced agreement on relicensing of the Niagara Power Project.

“We got totally vindicated on Wednesday,” he said. The Town of Lewiston was awarded 6.5 megawatts of low-cost power, which Newlin said could result in an up to 25 percent reduction in power costs for residents.

He said the benefit to Lewiston is not going to cost anything for the other six members of the Niagara Power Coalition, who are going to use their low-cost power to spur economic development.

The total low-cost power allocation for the coalition is more than 27 megawatts. The Lewiston Porter School District is to receive .866 megawatts.

Rewarding Residents

“Lewiston is a community of homes and families,” Newlin said, and as such, “the best way to reward residents is to reduce their rates.” Lewiston is the host community for the power project, which accounts for 2,400 acres within the town.

The town also will be receiving a check for $1.3 million as its portion of the $8 million, one-time, upfront signing bonus for the community fund of the Niagara Power Coalition. Newlin said seven separate checks will be issued, something he had initially pushed for.

$5 Million a Year for Coalition

As part of the deal with the New York Power Authority, the coalition will further benefit to the tune of $5 million a year for 50 years. The coalition will share an additional $3 million per year for the Niagara County Greenway Fund. This fund is to develop the environmental and recreational greenway along the Niagara River.

NYPA’s current license to operate the Niagara Power Project expires in 2007. The new 50-year relicensing agreement is subject to federal approval.

Aside from Lewiston and the Lewiston Porter School District, the other five members of the coalition are Niagara County, the city of Niagara Falls, the Town of Niagara and the school districts of Niagara Falls and Niagara Wheatfield.

Audit of Finances

Newlin also was happy that the rest of the coalition members agreed to a complete and independent audit of coalition finances as handled under previous coalition executive director Mark Zito.

It was agreed on Wednesday to form a finance committee to interview auditors or CPAs, then hire one to “have a better understanding of where we are financially.” Newlin said Niagara Wheatfield Business Executive Kerin Dumphrey and acting Lewiston Porter Superintendent Don Rappold would join him on that committee.

“I still don’t have a clear idea on how checks were issued,” Newlin said. “I hope mistakes weren’t made, but I think we ought to know – it’s the public’s money.”

Distribution Agency

Also on Wednesday, the coalition discussed whether to create one municipal distribution agency to receive and distribute wholesale power. The goal would be to save on management costs to maximize the benefits.

The options, Newlin said, are “to associate ourselves with a larger, county MDA or come up with our own (individual agencies), like Jamestown or Springville.”

He said the county already has a head start. In the 1970s, it formed a municipal power distribution association, but never acted on it.

The coalition’s law firm, Harris Beach, will explore creating an MDA and let members know what it would take. Newlin said coalition members should be making a decision by the end of the year.

The relicensing settlement announced earlier this week includes approximately $5.5 million per year, or $280 million total, in benefits for Buffalo and Erie County over 50 years. The sum would be used for waterfront redevelopment and to enhance the environmental and recreational greenway along the Niagara River.

Praise from Pataki

Gov. George Pataki said, in his announcement: “I am pleased that under this agreement, businesses in Western New York will continue to receive the critical, low-cost hydroelectric power they need to be competitive, and local communities will be given the funding they need to reclaim and revitalize the local waterfront.”

Pataki characterized the negotiations as “contentious” at times, but said in the end, it was clearly productive for both Niagara and Erie counties. He said the relicensing agreement will “generate economic opportunities and create new jobs across Western New York and throughout the Empire State.”