New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 9 - EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT › Subtitle A - Governor's Office › Chapter I - Executive Orders › Part 4 - Executive Orders (Mario M. Cuomo) › Section 4.20 - Executive order no. 20: establishing a temporary commission on allocation of power authority hydroelectric power

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
WHEREAS, the appropriate allocation of hydroelectric power
					 produced at the facilities of the New York Power Authority at its Niagara and
					 St. Lawrence-FDR Projects is of great importance to the people of New York
					 State; and
WHEREAS, the impending expiration of many contracts for
					 such power in 1985 and 1990 and the attendant need for planning and regulatory
					 action prompt consideration of the future allocation of such power; and
WHEREAS, recent rulings by the Federal Energy Regulatory
					 Commission (FERC) raise important and difficult questions about the future
					 allocation of Power Authority hydroelectric power; and
WHEREAS, FERC has declared and acknowledged that
					 allocations of hydroelectric power within New York State are of almost
					 exclusive interest to the State and should be appropriately addressed and
					 resolved by New York State; and
WHEREAS, a complete and thorough study of the current and
					 potential future disposition of Power Authority hydroelectric power will assist
					 in the development of appropriate executive and legislative action in regard to
					 the disposition of such power;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mario M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of
					 New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws
					 of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
I. There is hereby established within the
				  Executive Chamber a temporary commission of nine persons to be known as the
				  Temporary Commission on Allocation of Power Authority Hydroelectric Power (the
				  "Commission"). The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor
				  and a chairman shall be named by the Governor. The members of the Commission
				  shall receive no compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for any
				  necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their
				  duties.
II. The commission shall
				  make a complete and thorough study of the current disposition and future
				  allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power
				  Projects of the Power Authority of the State of New York through the terms of
				  the existing Federal licenses. It shall make recommendations on how this power
				  may be used to the maximum benefit of the State. Such study and recommendations
				  shall include, but not be limited to:
a. The
				  legal requirements of the Niagara Redevelopment Act ( P.L. 85-159), the Federal
				  Power Act, the Power Authority Act, the Power Authority's licenses for
				  operation of the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Projects, the State Energy
				  Law, and other applicable laws and regulations;
b. The decisions of FERC regarding the
				  allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power
				  Projects and other related administrative or judicial decisions;
c. The benefits derived from the current
				  allocation of hydroelectric power to residential, commercial and industrial
				  recipients and to the State as a whole;
d. The economic consequences to rural and
				  domestic customers, to other customers served either directly or indirectly
				  through municipal and rural electric cooperative systems or investor-owned
				  utilities, and to the State as a whole from the allocation of hydroelectric
				  power to any current recipient or class of recipients, or to any new recipient
				  or class of recipients, with particular emphasis upon expansion power users and
				  other existing or potential industrial customers;
e. The relationship between power sales and
				  revenues from the Niagara and St. Lawrence River Projects and power sales and
				  revenues from other Power Authority Projects;
f. Alternative programs to comply with and/or
				  alleviate the adverse impacts of Federal and State statutes and regulations
				  governing the allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St.
				  Lawrence-FDR Power Projects, including, but not limited to, the expansion of
				  the Niagara Power project, the importation of hydroelectric power from Canada,
				  the availability of power from the Power Authority's other existing or planned
				  projects, and the implementation of energy conservation measures;
g. Recommendation of a method or methods of
				  allocating Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project hydroelectric power that
				  will maximize the benefits of such power to the people of the State as a whole,
				  with particular emphasis placed upon using such hydroelectric power to retain
				  current jobs and to encourage the creation of new jobs throughout New York
				  State;
h. Recommendations as to
				  appropriate amendments to the Power Authority Act and/or enactment of
				  additional State legislation required to implement the method or methods of
				  allocation recommended by the Commission and an analysis of the need, if any,
				  to change or clarify existing State statutory requirements relating to the sale
				  of Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Project hydroelectric power to domestic, rural,
				  commercial and industrial consumers.