The map, along with an accompanying report, is the result of months of field assessments conducted by the Commission in the state’s most remote areas, covering more than 80,000 miles.

In order to collect accurate data, the Commission collaborated with 60 internet service providers and surveyed tens of thousands of New York consumers.

Prior to the map’s creation, New York, like most states, relied in part on federal data that only required broadband providers to deliver service to one address in a census block to designate the entire area as served. By collecting address-level data, New York is now able to depict what locations are served, underserved, and unserved in a more granular way, which will aid in allocating state and federal funding.

The interactive map allows users to explore the state’s broadband availability. Users are able to search an address to see what providers are available, what technology those providers are using and what speeds and pricing packages they offer. Users are also able to search at county, municipal, and school district levels to obtain data on percentages of served, underserved, or unserved populations at each level.

The new map will allow individual New Yorkers and policymakers to analyze a more accurate representation of which locations are served, underserved or unserved. The Commission found that 97.4 percent of New York State address locations are served by high-speed broadband service providers. The map demonstrates that high-speed broadband services remain unavailable to many New Yorkers in predominately rural areas. Furthermore, it shows that counties with the lowest median income were found to have the highest average prices for broadband and the lowest percentage of served locations.

The link to the interactive map can be found here: https://mapmybroadband.dps.ny.gov/

The New York State Department of Public Service is mapping broadband infrastructure and is using the survey as a tool to study the reliability and affordability of high-speed broadband infrastructure throughout New York State.

Chautauqua County recently approved funding from its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation to build out broadband infrastructure across the county, specifically in those areas that are unserved or underserved.

County Executive PJ Wendel said in a press release that the survey will aid the county in determining the areas that require and deserve this investment.

He said, “We hope to have a really large response rate so that we can demonstrate to New York State that we are in need of additional broadband infrastructure to serve our population more equitably, and this will supplement our ARPA allocation. What became abundantly clear during the COVID-19 pandemic is that there are plenty of gaps in our broadband coverage across the county, and this infrastructure is key to not only our businesses and schools, but the population at large.”

Residents have until March 18, 2022 to take the survey.

It can be found at https://www.empirestatebroadband.com/ or by calling the toll-free broadband assessment line at 1-855-692-2627 to receive a paper copy in the mail.

The Commission decision slashed the proposed rate increase by more than one-third. National Grid had requested an increase of approximately $100.4 million in electric delivery revenues and an increase of approximately $41.8 million in natural gas delivery revenues.

The decision will keep annual electric and gas increases for National Grid customers below 2% for the next three years.

The Commission adopted a joint proposal that contains provisions to further the objectives of the Climate Act and respond to the economic conditions created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Total electric bills for typical residential customers using 600 kilowatts per month would increase by between 2.02% and 2.2% in the first year, 1.98% and 2.12% in second year, and 2.24% and 2.4% in the third year, depending on the location of customers within the company’s service territory. Total gas bills for typical residential customers using 82 therms per month would increase by 1.99% in the first year, 3.13% in the second year, and 3.29% in the third year.

In upstate New York, National Grid provides electric service to approximately 1.6 million customers and gas service to approximately 600,000 customers.

On Monday night the City Council acted on more than two dozen mayoral appointments to various boards and agencies, including the BPU. Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said that keeping with tradition, he wanted to appoint the new council president to the BPU.

“I have two council members that I need to appoint [every two years] in accordance with the city charter… and I’ve had a long-standing tradition of appointing the council president to the board,” Teresi said. “I just feel it is important to have the council president being one of the two council members to serve on the board because of all the coordination that happens between the city council and the BPU.”

Carrabba will take over the seat occupied by former city council president Greg Rabb, who did not win reelection last November. However, Rabb will remain active on the BPU and was appointed by Teresi to serve a four-year term.

Teresi said it was important for him to keep Rabb in the fold, given his years of experience.

“Greg was a good fit. Obviously he knows the lay of the land. We are dealing with a variety of issues right now that are in mid-stream and I think that continuity as well as the cohesion on that board is important,” Teresi said. “I thought that keeping that board in tact was important.”

Teresi said among the items the BPU is currently focused on is the annexation effort of the Dow St. Substation property from the village of Falconer/Town of Ellicott, an effort to purchase a natural gas pipeline that feeds into the BPU Generating Station, the proposed sale of the city Wastewater Treatment Plant to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation (JLDC), and an effort to request the state Public Service Commission to allow for the increase of electric rates in the next two or three years.

Rabb will take over the seat that was help previously by BPU member Martha Zenns (a term of four years). Zenns meanwhile was reappointed to a two-year term to fill the seat previously occupied by Tyler Case, who was not reappointed to a new term. Instead, Case was appointed to the JLDC board.

Also being reappointed to the BPU was councilwoman Maria Jones (D-Ward 4), along with community representatives Ralph Wallace and Chuck Cornell.

That’s according to the Post-Journal, which says the BPU passed its 2018 solid waste budget on Monday.

The budget includes a rate increase for customers who live outside of the city while the rate for city residents will stay the same.

The new rate for outside of the city customers will be $27.50, with a $10.50 credit for recycling at least once during the billing period.

The rate for city solid waste customers will remain $21 in 2018, with a $10.50 credit for recycling at least once during the billing period. The proposed change will increase BPU solid waste revenues by $40,000.

The BPU also passed its 2018 district heating budget with no increase to the schedule of rates. However, there will be an increase in the fuel adjustment charge, which will take place the beginning of November and will impact December’s bill.

The board also discussed the preliminary budget for the water division and the electric division. The water division is proposing a 4 percent rate increase for 2018. The water division and waste water division budget will be reviewed and acted on during the BPU’s November 20 meeting.

Meanwhile, the electric division won’t see any rate increase in 2018, although the board indicated it will make a request with the state Public Service Commission to increase electric rates by 3.5 percent in 2019.

The substation is owned by the BPU and sits on a four-acre piece of property inFalconer / Town of Ellicott, but would fall within the border of the city of Jamestown should the annexation take place.

More than 200 people were on and for a joint public hearing on the proposed annexation of the BPU’s Dow Street Substation Property. The hearing was held at Falconer Central School Monday night, June 12, 2017.

• MOBILE APP USERS: LISTEN HERE

The hearing was hosted by the Jamestown City Council, the Falconer Village Board, and the Ellicott Town Board and included a presentation from the BPU as to why the annexation was being pursued, featured arguments from legal council for both sides as to why the annexation should or should not take place, and also saw 29 members of the public offer their thoughts on the issue with none speaking in favor of the annexation.

BPU General Manager David Leathers during Monday night’s annexation public hearing.

During his presentation, BPU General Manager David Leathers told the audience that the annexation would help provide increased financial stability for the BPU because it would save an estimated $160,000 annually in tax payments.

“The BPU has faced substantial financial challenges over the past several years that have eroded net income, strained cash on hand, and caused concerns about the ability to adequately invest in critical capitol improvements,” Leathers said as part of his presentation. “The challenging New York State electrical market, coupled with the relatively stagnant economy of this area, means that the BPU must continuously find creative solutions to reduce its costs to minimize or avoid rate increases for all its customers, who again live not just in the city but also in Ellicott, Falconer and Celoron.”

Following Leathers, Attorney Kathy Bennet from Bond, Schoeneck, & King, who is serving as legal council for the city and BPU in the annexation effort, outlined the evidence in favor of the annexation, saying it meets all the legal requirements under state law and is in the overall public interest of the the affected communities.

“Stabilizing utility rates and services will encourage business development. Electric service received by customers will not change. The annexation will reduce the BPU’s tax liability, thereby reducing its operating costs and directly improving profitability and cash on hand. Since the BPU will have more resources available, it will be able to reinvest the needed capitol and infrastructure requirements and ensure continued reliable service,” Bennet said.

To counter Bennet’s claims, the legal council for the village of Falconer and Town of Ellicott, Attorney Pietra Zaffram with Harris Beach PLLC, provided a presentation that countered much of what Bennet had presented. They also brought in a former employee with the state Public Service Commission, Frank Radigan, who said that reducing the BPU bottom line by $160,000 would actually have little to no impact on future electric rates.

“After looking through their financial records and [2010 and 2015] rate cases, I conclude that they wouldn’t save a lot of money if property taxes were eliminated, and I don’t see any reason that the rates would dramatically increase because they’ve stayed stable or decreased a little over time on a historic basis,” Radigan said.

Falconer Central School Superintendent Stephen Pennhollow.

Following the presentation, the public was provided an opportunity to address the issue, with Falconer Superintendent Stephen Penhollow telling the city of Jamestown he understands their financial challenges, but doesn’t think they should try and solve them by shifting  those challenges to their neighbors.

• LISTEN TO ANNEXATION PUBLIC HEARING – PART 2: PUBLIC COMMENT

“I have no problem with the city seeking to find other ways to increase revenue. No problem whatsoever. I applaud you in those efforts,” Penhollow said, adding, “But when you’re sources of revenue are coming from our revenue sources, that is not what neighbors do and that is not how neighbors treat other neighbors and I find a bit of concern with that.”

If the annexation were to take place, the Falconer School District, Ellicott, Falconer and the County. would miss out on a total of $320,000 in annual tax payments from the BPU. In addition, the city of Jamestown and the Jamestown Public School District would each get nearly $80,000 from the BPU in the form of a payment in lieu of taxes. As a result, the net savings for the BPU would be $160,000 each year.

Another member of the audience, Jamestown Resident Chris Gardner, called the annexation effort a low-point in the city’s history.

“What we’re basically looking at here is more desperation from our city government to scrape together revenue… Obviously the legality of this, according to [Zaffram’s] presentation, clearly shows  that that within any judicial setting the Town of Ellicott and Village of Falconer would easily win. We’re talking about the ‘Dow Street’ substation, not the ‘Tiffany Avenue’ Substation,” Garnder said, alluding to the actual border between the city and the village. “It’s absurd and it’s just a low point.”

Tyler Stimson, a member of the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, spoke out against an analysis by the city’s legal council that stated the substation would be better served by falling within the jurisdiction of the profession Jamestown Fire Department, rather than the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department.

Tempers flared at several points during the three-hour meeting, most notably when Bennet stated the annexation was in the public’s interest, partly because the property would fall under the jurisdiction of the professional Jamestown Fire Department, rather than the volunteer firefighters in Falconer. Many in the audience took exception to the volunteers being made out to be less qualified or even incapable of responding to a fire at the property.

Falconer Mayor Jim Rensel said he was pleased with the turnout, and is hoping members of the Jamestown City Council will seriously consider the long-term impact of an annexation.

“A lot of people are upset and in our opinion it’s a tax shift that will have a very significant effect on our budget,” Rensel told WRFA following the meeting. “We feel we have a pretty good case but I wish it would just stop right here with the city council. I firmly believe when I say this that I believe there are people on the city council who are against this, but I don’t think they are encouraged to speak freely, let’s put it that way.”

The hearing was required in order for the three involved government bodies to act on the annexation, which will take place within the next 90 days. Should any of the bodies vote against the annexation, the matter will then have to be settled in state appellate court.

NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk

DUNKIRK – The mothballed NRG power plant in Dunkirk could have a chance of reopening.

NRG Energy, the plant’s owner, said it will look to revive its original plan to convert the coal-burning power plant to run on natural gas. The announcement comes after another energy company – Entergy Corporation – announced it was dropping its lawsuit against NRG, which had blocked the project and led to the facility’s mothballing at the start of this year.

NRG announced in March 2012 that it would mothball the Dunkirk plant because it no longer was economically viable, but it agreed to keep operating the facility through 2015 to maintain the reliability of the region’s power grid after receiving more than $110 million in payments from National Grid ratepayers.

Senator Cathy Young (R-Olean) sent out a release on Monday, calling it news that Dunkirk has been praying for.

The plant was mothballed in early January, creating a massive hole in Dunkirk’s tax base. The state had stepped forward an offered emergency funding to offset the lost PILOT payments NRG had pulled from the county, city of Dunkirk, and Dunkirk School District – but that emergency funding was only temporary and didn’t provide long-term aid.

An NRG official told the Buffalo News the company is willing to move forward with its conversion plans, provided that other companies and agencies that were involved in the project still are interested in making the same commitments that they were before it was put on hold. National Fuel Gas Co., for instance, was preparing to build a pipeline to carry natural gas to the plant, but that agreement was terminated in May 2016. The state Public Service Commission also must back the project.

The NRG Power Plant is the largest taxpayer in Chautauqua County and employs over 100 people, with 50 more jobs expected once the full conversion takes place.

NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Reed (R-Corning) and State Sen. Cathy Young (R-Olean) are expressing their concern and disappointment with the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) after learning it plans to terminate a contract involving the repowering of the NRG Power Plant in Dunkirk.

Reed and Young both made a statement on Tuesday regarding the expected cancellation of the 10-year agreement that was made in 2014 between NRG and National Grid. Under the terms of the 2014 contract, the NRG coal-burning power plant would have be converted to a natural gas-burning power plant. The move would have allowed the plant to remain operational, preserving dozens of jobs in the north county while also maintaining property tax payments for the city of Dunkirk, the Dunkirk School District, and Chautauqua County.

However, the PSC now plans to terminate the agreement and is seeking public input on the matter.

According to the PSC, the likely termination is based on NRG’s decision to mothball the facility rather than meet the required September 2015 deadline to add natural gas-firing capabilities to the plant. The PSC also cites the decision by NRG to go with other transmission upgrades that would make the conversion of the plant in Dunkirk obsolete. Moreover, the PSC has cited an April 19, 2016 Supreme Court decision (Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing, LLC) that could be used to nullify any state-ordered contract for the sale of electric generation capacity – including the one that was approved in 2014 between NRG and National Grid.

• READ THE PSC’S LETTER SEEKING PUBLIC COMMENT [PDF]

Because of the reasons provided, the PSC is now requesting public comment on the impending contract termination, with a deadline set for June 3, 2016. Any filings should refer to “Case 12-E-0577.”

The power plant was mothballed by NRG as it worked to fight a lawsuit challenging the conversion, as well as focus on other projects not involving the Dunkirk facility.

REED, YOUNG BLAME STATE’S ‘ANTI-NATURAL GAS AGENDA’

Rep. Tom Reed (R-Corning)

On Tuesday Congressman Reed politicized the PSC decision by putting the blame on Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other state lawmakers who’ve pushed for a an energy policy that focuses more on renewable sources, rather than those from fossil fuels.

“It’s very frustrating that this NRG plant will close due to the extreme anti-natural gas agenda in Albany,” Reed stated. “The result is jobs lost, higher electric rates, and higher property taxes – directly harming our community. Our entire region will suffer the negative consequences of a weaker economy – all because of extremists in Albany who are opposed to natural gas telling those of us in places like Dunkirk and Chautauqua County that they know better than we do.”

Senator Young also released a statement on Tuesday, which also pointed the finger at state policy for failing to keep the conversion from moving forward, instead supporting out-of-state interests.

“I condemn the state’s new found policy to destroy our power generators, and thus our jobs and tax base, by relying on importing power from Canada and dirty coal plants in neighboring states, including Pennsylvania and Ohio,” Young said. “Most notably, the PSC previously approved a huge transmission project so that National Grid now draws power into Western New York from Pennsylvania’s Homer City, one of the hugest, filthiest coal plants in the country. The substation that was completed last December has a 345,000 volt line coming from Homer City into a substation in Cattaraugus County, reducing the voltage to 115,000 volts, the same voltage that was generated by Dunkirk NRG’s power station. There also is transmission construction south of Dunkirk by Pennsylvania’s First Energy power company, which also is replacing Western New York’s power generators.

Senator Catherine Young (R-Olean)

“These out-of-state imports have replaced NRG’s power that is needed to maintain system reliability,” Young continued. “Pennsylvania’s grid power has triple the greenhouse gas emissions than New York State power sources, and Pennsylvania does not belong to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). All of those toxic pollutants spewing from these neighboring coal plants and the acid rain generated by them drifts into New York State, negatively impacting our people’s health and our environment.”

Despite the latest developments and the odds being staked against the Dunkirk plant, Sen. Young said she would still fight to keep the project moving forward.

“As long as the contract between NRG and National Grid is in place, there is hope to repower the NRG plant into a clean, efficient natural gas facility that would provide jobs and stabilize the tax base,” Young said. “Now the PSC is pushing to discontinue the contract based on the fact that NRG has failed to begin the construction, the PSC and the Independent System Operator (ISO) have instituted policies to make New York State dependent on out-of-state generators and transmission, and the fact that there is a Supreme Court decision which holds that state regulators cannot interfere with wholesale interstate power markets.

“Killing New York jobs and taking away our power generation hurts our economy, and dooms Western New York’s ability to expand manufacturing opportunities… The PSC and ISO policy of exporting our jobs and power generation is a catastrophe.” Young added. “New York State government should be held accountable for these terrible decisions.  The madness of wiping out our power generation has to end… That is why I am introducing legislation to require an analysis of imported power, a comparison of pollution from out-of-state generation to our power plants, and an analysis of its effect on our state’s power industry.”

While a contract termination by the PSC could spell major economic problems for Dunkirk and even the entire county, Young also reminded residents that there will be financial assistance during the short-term.

“Our regional taxpayers will not be hurt because we successfully fought to include the power plant mitigation fund in this year’s state budget, so the tax loss from the NRG pilot payment will be offset to the Dunkirk School District, the City of Dunkirk, and Chautauqua County,” Young said. “But we need long term solutions. If the PSC does discontinue the contract between NRG and National Grid, I will work as hard as I can to effectuate alternate solutions that will grow jobs, the economy, and the tax base.”

Congressman Reed said he will also work to find alternative solutions, should the contract termination take place.

“Our office will continue working with them and other local leaders to ensure that we can bring quality, family-sustaining jobs our region. We will continue exploring new options to obtain federal help for communities directly impacted by coal plant closures and to encourage use of our domestic energy resources such as wind, solar, natural gas and clean coal rather than depending on Middle East oil.”

• READ THE COMPLETE PSC FILING DOCUMENT [PDF]

According to a release sent out by the BPU, the approval means a typical residential customer using 750 kilowatts an hour per month will see a monthly increase of $1.40, or 2.6 percent of their total bill. This will be the first electric rate increase for the BPU since 2010.

The PSC also approved the BPU’s request to establish a new Overhaul Reserve Fund, to pay for the cost of overhauling its gas turbine and steam generators. The gas turbine alone must be overhauled every 25,000 run-time hours at a cost of $2.5 – $4.5 Million. Funding for the overhaul reserve fund will come from the BPU’s off system sales profits. The BPU said that the Overhaul Reserve Fund will allow the BPU to save cash for the required overhauls without incurring the cost to file a rate case before the PSC and without raising rates.

In it’s filing, the PSC also ordered the BPU to move $2.8 Million in the current Dismantling Fund, which is excess of projected dismantling cost, to the new Overhaul Reserve Fund. And the PSC denied a request for a Capital Fund to accumulate separate funds for undefined future capital projects (apart from the new Overhaul Reserve Fund).

In what appears to be a sign of support for Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, the Commission also noted that the City of Jamestown – as the owner of the facility and its supplier of equity capital – may require the BPU to distribute a reasonable portion of its profits to the City, provided that the utility is earning a profit and will remain financially stable.

Finally, the PSC accepted the utility’s request to expand its existing program that allows qualifying customers the opportunity to apply to install equipment that generates electricity-using wind or solar powered equipment. This expansion will enable approved BPU Service Class 3 and 6 customers (large and economic development customers) to install equipment with a capacity of up to 200 Kw.

Members of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities listens to Chautauqua Co. Chamber of Commerce President Todd Tranum during the Nov. 23 board meeting.

JAMESTOWN – The projected property tax increase in the city of Jamestown’s 2016 budget now sits at 4.06 percent. The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities on Monday approved giving the city a $482,000 dividend payment for next year following a 6-2 vote.

The $482,000 payment is $232,000 more than what Jamestown mayor Sam Teresi had proposed in his initial 2016 budget. That’s because the Jamestown City Council, during closed-door budget deliberations last week that were not open to the public, came to a unanimous decision to request $482,000 – the same amount the BPU gave the city for the current fiscal year.

City Council president Greg Rabb said the additional $232,000 will bring down the projected tax hike by 1.5 percent.

“[The $482,000] is almost double what the mayor requested, so it does have an effect on the budget. I think the the tax increase – whatever it might work out to be next week – might be much worse if we didn’t have the additional funding. So it does help a lot,” said Rabb, who also sits on the BPU.

The BPU spent more than 90 minutes discussing the dividend payment before acting on it, with board chairman John Zabrodsky, board member Carl Pillittieri, and general manager David Leathers saying the don’t support the payment because it would deplete the BPU reserves in either the electric or water divisions. If taken from the water division, it would create a rate increase higher than the 2.3 percent already being projected. If taken from the electric division, it could compromise a future 2.5 percent electric rate increase currently being considered by the state Public Service Commission (PSC).

The BPU was going to act on finalizing and approving its 2016 electric and water division budgets but held off following a request by Teresi, who wants to first find out if there could be any further cost saving measures in the water division budget before it is finalized. The issue of whether or not taking money from the electric division would impact the PSC rate case is something he also felt should be investigated further.

Rabb agrees it wouldn’t hurt to hold off on approving the two division budgets.

“There was much discussion about how we were going to handle this and I believe we tentatively committed to Dec. 7 as an additional board meeting for the BPU so that we could deal with the electric and water divisions, with the mayor making the point that now that we’ve agreed to the $482,000, can we go back and take a look at the budgets and make sure there isn’t something else we can ring out of the budget so we don’t have to talk about a rate increase.”

Both Zabrodsky and Pillittieri voted against giving the city the $482,000 dividend payment. BPU members voting in favor of the resolution included Teresi and Rabb, along with Chuck Cornell, Maria Jones, Jeff Lehman, and Martha Zenns.  Board member Wayne Rishell was absent.

CHAMBER SPEAKS OUT AGAINST DIVIDEND PAYMENT

Chamber president Todd Tranum.

Prior to discussing the dividend payment, several members of the public addressed the BPU, including Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Association president Todd Tranum. Tranum criticized the board for approving dividend payments in past years, saying it’s the reason why the BPU electric division had to file for the rate increase request with the PSC.

“Based on our reserach and looking at the numbers, the current rate increase submitted by the BPU is absolutely unnecessary,” Tranum said. “It is an indirect tax driven by the city of Jamestown, taking money from this utility.”

Tranum also told officials that if they continue to profit share with the city, it would continue to force the BPU to increase its rates, causing it to lose its edge as an affordable utility provider to both residents and businesses not only in Jamestown, but the entire service area including the communities outside of the city.

Tranum also pointed out that the BPU already pays $3.5 million a year in the form of tax equivalent payments, adding that the dividend payments are excessive.