NYSEG SEEKS TO STRING A NEW POWER LINE THROUGH THE HEART OF THE COUNTY


Mike McCagg
ccSCOOP News

04-02-11 - A new power line proposed by New York State Electric and Gas would serve as a backup power supply for thousands of county residents who frequently find themselves left in the dark. But the project will likely find many opponents given the need for the power company to string a new line through the center of Columbia County.

A special committee in Ghent met Wednesday for the first time to discuss the project, which as proposed by NYSEG, would string a new, 10-mile long overhead electric line from a 115-KV transmission line on the western side of the county owned by National Grid to a new substation proposed for Ghent by NYSEG and on to NYSEG’S existing Klinw Kill substation in Chatham.

The power line would provide redundancy to the power line that supplies nothern Columbia County from the Craryville area.

NYSEG spokesman Clayton Ellis, who dubbed the project a reliability one meant to improve service to NYSEG’s customers, said the project is in its infancy.

The route of the new line has not been determined, nor has the location of the new substation. However, two sites for the substation under consideration include a location near Stockport Road and another location new BAC Sales/Amanda’s Fire Place on Falls Road. Both sites are just off state Route 9H in the western section of Ghent.

“It’s clear that the majority of this project would fall in Ghent,” said Ghent Planning Board Chairman Jonathan Walters.

As a result, said Walters, the new Ghent committee, which consists of Walters, attorney Ted Gutterman, Aaron Groom, Gil Raab, former Supervisor Dick Leggett, councilman Pete Nelson Sr. and Ed Habeck, among others, has been formed to study the project.

Walters said NYSEG representatives have already met with officials in Ghent, Stockport, Kinderhook and Chatham to discuss the project.

What is not in question is the fact that no matter the path taken by the power company, the line will cut through many properties and as such would require the power company to acquire property rights from those land owners.

That, local officials said, is likely to stir opposition to the project.

Ellis said that once NYSEG determines which route it would like to take with the project, it will schedule further meetings with representatives of the affected towns.

If the proposed power line remains less than 10 miles, the project only requires local approval. If the proposed line stretches past 10 miles, the state Public Service Commission would be involved in the permitting process, Ellis said.