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

increased output that resulted from the Niagara Project Upgrade. The Niagara
Study is not subject to Trustee review in this rate action. 5
1. The Niagara Project Upgrade was Prudent and Necessary to
Assure the Continued Viability of the Project.
Contrary to NYAPP’s assertions, the Niagara Project Upgrade was demonstrably
prudent. It involved extensive overhaul and replacement of aging equipment at
the Niagara Project’s primary generating station that houses the thirteen
generating units, also referred to as the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant
(“RMNPP”). This work was necessary to maintain the reliability of the plant. In
addition, NYAPP ignores the fact that the Niagara Project Upgrade evolved from
an expansion plan into a life extension and modernization plan, and that such
upgrades were necessary and beneficial to customers.
Although NYAPP briefly acknowledges the life extension and modernization
benefits of the Niagara Project Upgrade (Russell at 14 n.5), Mr. Russell pretends
that this work was a minor activity, and that the bulk of NYPA’s expenditures was
devoted to increasing the capacity of the hydropower turbines. Not only is this
incorrect, at times Mr. Russell relies upon the claimed benefits stemming from
the Authority’s 1987 License Amendment, see, e.g., Russell at 13-14, 24-25, for
purposes that do not relate to the actual upgrade that was performed. In fact, the
entire nature of the Niagara Project Upgrade was modified substantially in the
early 1990s, all of which is a matter of public record.
It is true that the Niagara Project Upgrade was originally planned as an
expansion project in the early 1980s, shortly after the 1979 oil embargo. NYPA’s
engineers had conceived of a program in which both the RMNPP and the
Lewiston Pumped Storage Generating Plant (“LPGP”) were to be expanded.
This would allow the Project to increase production during peak demand periods
5
Although this rate proceeding is not the proper forum for review of the Niagara Study, NYPA
has communicated to NYAPP and the other Public Customers that it will set up meetings with
Authority staff to explain the Niagara Study’s findings.
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