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"I don't know of any issue that brings town, county, state, economic development, small business, organized labor and educators all together like this issue has galvanized the support of the community, said New York State Senator Mike Nozzolio Monday.  "I'd especially like to thank the community for your involvement, your dedication, for your interest, and for your leadership in this very important issue.  Ensuring the ongoing operation of the Cayuga Operating Plant will protect our property taxpayers, while retaining good jobs right here in our region."

Nozzolio was at the Cayuga Power Plant in Lansing Monday to support a proposal to repower the coal-powered plant with natural gas.  With nearly 30 plant employees watching, Nozzolio was joined by a community leaders from Lansing and Tompkins County supporting the repowering project and keeping the plant open.  Nozzolio urged community leaders and local residents to speak up at a public hearing at 6pm on Monday, July 29th at the Lansing Middle School Auditorium at which the Public Service Commission (PSC) will hear public comments.

The PSC is considering five potential projects : four to convert the plant to natural gas, and one proposed by NYSEG to close the plant and upgrade the power distribution system.

"NYSEG discovered they need the plant for reliability purposes, for energy and for voltage stabilization," explains Upstate New York Power Producers Chief Operating Officer Jerry Goodenough.  "In order for the plant to go away they need to upgrade their transmission system.  They're not saying the plant should close.  They're saying they'd rather do a transmission system upgrade than to repower the facility.  They've made that claim based on lease cost to the ratepayer."

Goodenough challenges NYSEG's proposal on two grounds.  First, he notes the least expensive of the plant's four repowering proposals would be less costly than NYSEG's transmission project proposal, and may cost ratepayers less because of revenues coming back inincluding Installed Capacity (ICAP) payments over a 20 year period.  Additionally Goodenough says that NYSEG did not consider local impact in their proposal, something the PSC required when soliciting proposals.

"The PSC order to NYSEG and to National Grid was very explicit that local economic impact, both direct and indirect, needed to be part of the analysis," Goodenough says.  "Our proposal included that.  NYSEG's proposal did not.  I don't know why they didn't choose to do it, but they were ordered to.  And it's a huge impact."

Speakers Monday confirmed that the impact on the Lansing community would be devastating, especially to school district programs and taxpayers.


"We would expect a loss of approximately 1.2 million dollars which is equivalent to over 15 teaching positions," said School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso.  "We could not request our Lansing tax payers to suffer the drastic tax increase that would need to take place to meet the loss of 1.2 million dollars.  As we evaluate this decision, it is important to recognize the effect it will have on our Lansing School District and be prepared for the consequences".

Lansing Faculty Association President Stacie Kropp said the schools would lose teachers and programs if tax revenue from the plant were to end.

"Lansing is fortunate to be able to offer opportunities to students that include character education classes, enrichment programs, music lessons, and a variety of sports activities while still maintaining a student-teacher ratio that allows for personalized instruction," she said. "Not many rural districts in New York can provide such a wide array of prospects for their students and we are able to do so, in part, because of the taxes paid by the Lansing Power Plant.  These opportunities are often what bring families to Lansing and make the Lansing School District what it is today."

Lansing Town Supervisor Kathy Miller said any of the four repowering proposals, all of which include 2 megawatt solar array to be constructed on six acres adjoining the plant, would be a first step in meeting local, state and federal goals to identify and implement sustainable energy alternatives.

"Repowering the facility would be the first of many steps over the next several years to achieve this goal," she said. "The PSC’s recognition and approval of this viable option will be significant to the Town of Lansing, and the Lansing Central School District for years to come by helping to insure the financial health and welfare of our local economy, and the preservation of jobs, while maintaining our School District as one of the best in the State of New York.”

"I find it hard to understand why some are advocating for the Plant to remain coal fired when the reason for the financial hardship the Plant has endured over the last 5 years is the high cost of coal," said Town of Lansing Economic Development Committee Chairman Andrew Sciarabba.  "Natural gas is a lower cost energy source and I believe is better for the environment than coal."

Lansing resident Dan Pace, who owns Hickory Hollow Golf Range and Pro Shop in Lansing, said closing the plant would be devastating to Lansing taxpayers and business owners because of the dramatic increase in property taxes that would result.

"As a small businesses owner and Lansing taxpayer, I support the repowering of the Cayuga Operating Plant and I urge the New York State Public Service Commission to allow this plan to move forward without delay," Pace said.


County Chamber of Commerce President Jean McPheeters, Tompkins County Area Development President Michael Stamm, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 83 President Leo Yanez, Tompkins-Cortland Building & Construction Trades Council President David Marsh and Tompkins County Legislator Pat Pryor also spoke in support of repowering the plant, and Lansing Parent Teacher Student Organization President Dorothy Debbie sent a statement supporting the repowering.

While acknowledging the devastating impact of a plant closure on the community, McPheeters praised the plant management for its history of good citizenship in Tompkins County.

"The Board of Directors of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce has been proud to have one of the cleanest coal plants in the nation as our neighbor, member and local business for many years," she said.  "We think that it is imperative to have a wide range of fuel options available and to ensure that there is regional energy capacity."

Pryor added that locally generated electricity would not mean any more fracked natural gas than would come to New York via Pennsylvania or Ohio plants over the distribution grid.

"Mothballing the Cayuga power plant will not prevent the use of fracked gas in Tompkins County, as protesters against natural gas would have us think," she said. "Our electricity needs locally are met by the NY power grid.  In 2011, the electricity generated by natural gas was 30.9% of the electricity consumed in NY State.  That natural gas comes to us from the Gulf of Mexico up through the gas fields of Pennsylvania and further west.  It would be naïve to think that it does not pick up fracked gas along the way."

Nozzolio said it was due to Pettograsso's efforts that the public hearing was scheduled in Lansing where local stakeholders will have the best access to making their opinions heard.  He reiterated that closing the plant would result in an 11.7% increase in school taxes alone, and on top of that a 7.4% county tax rise would result.

"This closure would cost the average property taxpayer in Lansing nearly $600.00 and make Lansing the highest taxed, non-city school district in Tompkins County," he said.  "Additionally, over 40 well paying jobs would be lost at the power plant, hurting local families and the Lansing economy.  We must do everything possible to protect our local property taxpayers from this devastating tax increase and encourage the New York State Public Service Commission to allow the Plant to move forward with its plans to repower."

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