NYRI: What about Marcy South?

NORWICH – The Marcy-South transmission corridor isn’t wide enough to support the New York Regional Interconnect power line, a spokesman for the New York Power Authority said Friday.

That means NYRI would have to condemn more land to make room for its project if it were to parallel the existing 207-mile-long power line, which runs through neighboring Otsego County.

“There is only enough right of way to support Marcy-South,” said Michael Saltzman, a spokesman for the power authority, which owns and operates the 345 kilo-volt line. “There is no extra right of way that is not being used by the existing Marcy-South line.”

Neither the power authority nor officials from the state Public Service Commission (PSC) would offer schematics of the right of way plans for Marcy-South, citing security reasons.

NYRI was ordered by the PSC to study building its $1.6 billion power line next to Marcy-South as an alternative to its proposed route, which runs through 44 miles of Chenango County on railroad and NYSEG right of ways.

A NYRI spokesman would not comment specifically on the viability of Marcy-South as an actual route option.

“The Marcy South route is among the routes that NYRI studied in response to PSC requests, and that route will be reported on extensively in NYRI’s supplemental filing for the PSC’s consideration,” stated NYRI spokesman David Kalson in an e-mail message Friday. “Every route, and combinations of routes, including the Marcy South route, has advantages and disadvantages that the PSC considers before making its siting decision.”