July (pdf) - New York Power Authority

east from the St. Lawrence Project to Plattsburgh, New York, and to the Vermont border; two 230-kV lines
extending south from the St. Lawrence Project to Belfort, New York; a single circuit underground and
underwater line extending across Long Island Sound between Con Edison’s substation in Westchester County
and LIPA’s substation in Nassau County, New York; several 115-kV lines connected directly to large
industrial customers and other shorter lines connecting the Authority’s generating facilities to the transmission
grid.
In 2003, the Authority completed construction of a transmission control device known as the
Convertible Static Compensator at its Marcy substation. This technology provides voltage control and helps
reduce congestion on heavily used transmission lines between Utica and Albany, New York.
Long Island Sound Cable
The Cable consists of a 345-kV underground and underwater transmission cable, extending for
approximately 26.6 miles from the Sprain Brook substation owned by Con Edison in Westchester County,
New York, to the East Garden City substation owned by LIPA in Nassau County, New York, and includes
an underwater crossing of approximately 7.9 miles of Long Island Sound. Installation of the Cable was
completed in 1991.
Tri-Lakes Transmission Reinforcement Project
In September 2004, the Authority, National Grid, and the Villages of Tupper Lake and Lake Placid
executed a settlement agreement designed to settle a dispute relating to cost responsibility for certain
transmission system upgrades. Under the settlement agreement, National Grid is responsible for the
construction of substation equipment and a new overhead line to alleviate serious transmission capacity
deficiencies in the Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, New York, area of the Adirondacks. The
upgrades consist of (a) one 46-kV Static Var Compensator (‘‘SVC’’) at Tupper Lake and one 115-kV SVC at
Lake Colby (collectively, the ‘‘SVCs’’); and (b) a new overhead 46-kV line from Stark/Townline substation
to a new regulator station at Piercefield (the ‘‘New Line’’) (collectively, the ‘‘Tri-Lakes Project’’).
National Grid is responsible for the design, engineering, procurement, construction, installation,
testing, and overall project management for the Tri-Lakes Project, subject to oversight by the Authority. The
Authority was the applicant for governmental permits or approvals required for the siting or construction of
the New Line, and National Grid was the applicant for permits or approvals required for the SVCs. The
SVCs were placed into service in 2007 and the New Line entered into service in May 2009. The
settlement agreement contemplated that the Authority would own and finance the Tri-Lakes Project up to
January 1, 2012, at which time the Tri-Lakes Project would be transferred to National Grid upon payment of
the Net Project Cost, as defined below. The parties are considering advancing the transfer date.
The current cost estimate for the Tri-Lakes Project is $52.9 million (‘‘Total Project Cost’’). The Net
Project Cost shall equal the Total Project Cost less $9.7 million (in 2004 dollars), which is the portion of the
Tri-Lakes Project cost borne by Tupper Lake ($3.2 million) and Lake Placid ($6.5 million). The Authority
will finance both National Grid’s and the Villages’ share of the Total Project Cost but will be reimbursed
for these costs. The Authority and National Grid will share equally in any cost increases above the
estimated cost of the transmission line part of the Project (estimated to cost $15.8 million in 2004 dollars).
The Authority’s share of cost increases is estimated to be less than $10 million.
Certain Operating Information
Effective in 1965, the Authority and Ontario Hydro entered into a Memorandum of Understanding
containing provisions for coordinated operation of the two systems, for interchange of power and energy at
2-39