Will changes at PSC affect NYRI?

ALBANY – A change in leadership at the state’s top power line authority shouldn’t impact the New York Regional Interconnect Inc. case, say officials in Albany and spokesmen both for and against NYRI.

Last week Governor Eliot Spitzer appointed Garry Brown as chairman of the state Public Service Commission (PSC), replacing George Pataki appointee Patricia Acampora.

The PSC makes the final decision on all major electric transmission facilities in the state – like NYRI’s $1.6 billion, 190-mile-long power line proposal. It also regulates the electric, gas, steam, telecommunications and water utilities.

Before coming over to the PSC, Brown was most recently the vice president of external affairs with the New York Independent System Operator (NYSIO) – the agency that oversees the electricity grid – which released a report in September stating that NYRI’s power line was not needed to meet growing energy needs through 2016.

When Canadian-backed NYRI does make its case with the PSC – the company’s first application was denied a review over a year and half ago because it lacked information in 10 critical areas – the newly-appointed Brown’s background with the NYISO won’t shift the balance for or against its bid to run a power line from Utica to Orange County, a PSC spokeswoman said Friday.