NYRI to give N.Y. more data on proposed power line

NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - The developer of a proposed power line through upstate New York will provide the state with additional information in response to concerns raised about the environmental and economic impact of the $1.6 billion project.

New York Regional Interconnect Inc. (NYRI) proposed to build a 200-mile direct current transmission line that would move up to 1,200-megawatts of electricity -- about enough for 1 million homes -- from upstate New York to the New York City metropolitan area.

Several communities along the proposed route have opposed the project, saying it would boost their electric bills and ruin scenic landscapes along the Delaware Valley.

NYRI said the project, expected to follow existing rights of way for about 80 percent of its length, would create hundreds of construction jobs and provide local communities with about $30 million a year in taxes.

The project would also allow more low cost power from upstate New York where supplies are abundant to move downstate where the demand for power is growing.

It costs less to generate power at the hydro, nuclear and coal-fired power plants in upstate New York than the oil and natural gas fired plants downstate.

The problem is that there is not enough transmission to move that low-cost power from upstate, so the downstate utilities need to run more noneconomic generation while some of the lower cost upstate plants remain idle.

The New York ISO, which operates the state power grid, earlier this month, said in a report that transmission congestion, primarily in downstate New York, cost ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The grid operator moreover warned that continued growth of demand in the New York metro area could lead to reliability problems in a few years unless the state builds more generation and transmission, and/or conserves more energy, especially downstate.

"NYRI is a large solution to a large problem," NYRI Project Manager Bill May said in an interview Tuesday.

NYRI expects to file the supplemental information about alternate routes and visual impacts with state regulators by midsummer.

The Public Service Commission could hold hearings on the project in the autumn. NYRI filed its application with the state in March 2006.

If approved, May said construction could start midyear 2009 and would take about three years to complete.