Minutes of the Annual Meeting of the Power - New York Power ...

Part I: Introduction
This Staff Analysis of Public Comments and Recommendations (“2007 Staff
Analysis”) is being issued by the New York Power Authority (“Authority” or
“NYPA”) in April 2007 to analyze all comments received in Authority’s
hydroelectric rate proceeding for the 2007 and 2008 Rate Years, and to support
the final rates requested to be approved by the Authority’s Trustees. Part I of this
Staff Analysis briefly describes the January 2007 proposed rulemaking, the
public comment period and the proposed final rates. Part II contains the
Authority staff’s analysis and disposition of the issues raised in the public
comments.
A. January 2007 Proposed Rulemaking
At their meeting of January 30, 2007, the Trustees authorized notice of a
proposed rulemaking to increase the rates for hydroelectricity applicable to
preference power customers by 7.1% in the 2007 Rate Year, and by 5.8% in
2008 Rate Year. The Rate Years extend from May 1 st through April 30 th . The
proposed rate plan was prepared by the Authority staff and explained in its
“Preliminary Staff Report, Hydroelectric Production Rates, Rate Modification
Plan—2007 and 2008 Rate Years” issued in January 2007 (“Rate Modification
Plan”). Preference power is the hydroelectricity sold from the Authority’s Niagara
Project and St. Lawrence Project (collectively, the “Hydro Projects”) for
consumption by rural and domestic customers and which represents fifty percent
of the power of the Hydro Projects.
The Cost-of-Service (“CoS”) in the Rate Modification Plan is based on an update
of the cost elements using the same ratemaking principles and methodologies
that the Authority adopted in its last proceeding to modify preference power rates
in 2003. In that proceeding, numerous ratemaking principles and methodologies
were agreed to by all the in-state municipal systems and rural electric