Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Cheap Transportation and Cheap Power . . .

... built Upstate New York and made it thrive.

Our elected leaders have already trashed the cheap transportation part by not eliminating the Thruway Authority and its Tolls after all our competitors got free interstate highways.

Are they doing it again with power?  It sure looks like it:

 GOP senators say Canada to NYC power line will cost jobs . 

The proposed project does not seem to have the environmental/aesthetic disadvantages of the NYRI proposal.  So far, I do not hear that the proposal will raise Upstate power rates as NYRI was projected to do.  So what is the problem?

Sounds like Upstate power producers will have too much power on their hands if NYC stops purchasing it. They will have to lower the rates to get rid of it.  They will have to become more efficient.

Perhaps Upstate power rates will finally be brought into line what that of our competitors for jobs.

These senators seem to be more interested in protecting private business interests than bringing about an economic revival in Upstate NY.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/nyregion/merits-of-power-line-from-quebec-to-new-york-city-are-debated.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Dave said...

Strike, why do you persist in saying power is cheaper downstate? I can't find the chart I had not long ago comparing utilities across NY State and the price per kwh. Downstate is significantly MORE expensive. As is transportation, if you've ever paid the tolls to get in and out of New York CIty on various parkways, bridges, etc.

Anyway, here are two references that will show Con Edison customers paying an average of 22 to 23 cents per kwh. Are you paying more than that in Oneida County? (That's residential, but I'm assuming the industrial and commercials rates have a similar comparison curve.)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_electric_companies

www.bls.gov/ro2/avgengny.pdf

By the way, here's an interesting site, if you drill down into the data pages.

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=NY