Higgins calls for major changes
Seeking resignations at Power Authority
Rep. Brian Higgins is calling for a housecleaning at the New York Power Authority.
The authority's governing board and senior staff should resign en masse so that Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer can appoint a reform-minded team, Higgins said Tuesday.
"In order for the new governor to promote reform, he has to have unfettered control of the appointments," Higgins said.
The Buffalo Democrat, reacting to a Buffalo News investigation, also called for an investigation -- to be completed within 90 days -- to determine whether the authority improperly used funds to influence local officials during negotiations related to the federal relicensing of the Niagara Power Project."We will certainly consider Congressman Higgins' recommendation in this matter, as we would carefully consider suggestions from others who care about the New York Power Authority," said Marc Violette, a spokesman for Spitzer.
Authority officials declined to comment, saying they wanted to first hear from Higgins.
The Power Authority board consists of seven trustees appointed by former Gov. George E. Pataki and confirmed by the State Senate. They serve staggered five-year terms, and, as it now stands, it would take until May 2009 for Spitzer to appoint a majority of the board. Senior staff serve at the pleasure of Power Authority President Timothy S. Carey, a longtime Pataki associate.
Higgins wants the new board to be reconfigured to give greater representation to Western New York and the Massena region, to reflect the fact that hydropower plants in those areas produce about three-quarters of the power generated by the authority. Representation is now spread evenly throughout the state. Elise Cusack, a former Erie County legislator with ties to Rep. Thomas Reynolds, represents Western New York.
Higgins expressed concerns about a News report detailing how the authority provided grants to organizations in a position to influence relicensing negotiations, which concluded early last year. They resulted in the authority obtaining a 50-year license to continue operating the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston.
"Did they improperly use Power Authority revenues and resources to co-opt the local community into complying with their rush to get a new license? I think that's a fair question," Higgins said. Higgins, a longtime critic of the authority, outlined additional steps he wants considered.
They include:
* Relocating the authority's headquarters from White Plains to the Buffalo Niagara region. Such a move could involve some 560 jobs, paying an average of $86,900 each.
* Increasing the amount of low-cost hydropower designated for economic development in Western New York. About 38 percent of the plant's generating capacity is now earmarked for local industry, but a study commissioned by the authority found that 85 percent of it is being used inefficiently.
* Developing criteria aimed at lowering electricity rates for residential and business customers in Western New York so costs would be no higher than the national average. Currently, residential rates here are 50 percent higher than the national average; business rates are even more out of whack.
* Encouraging energy efficiency for low-cost hydropower. Industrial customers of low-cost hydropower are not required to take conservation steps.
"In order to revitalize the Buffalo Niagara economy, low-cost hydroelectricity has to be a component of the remedy," Higgins said.
The News, in an investigation published earlier this week, found that much of the low-cost power earmarked for Western New York industries goes to a handful of companies that enjoy multimillion-dollar subsidies despite employing few workers.
The News also reported that the Niagara Power Project produced $331 million in profits over the past two years but that for a long time most plant proceeds have been used to underwrite a costly bureaucracy and programs that primarily benefit companies outside Western New York.
The News also found that local leaders, during relicensing negotiations, did not try to capitalize on the Niagara plant's potential to help revitalize the local economy, instead settling for money to fund pet projects.
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