Senate Democrats Urge Public Service Commission to Support $4.5 Billion Energy Acquisition of Energy East
July 12, 2008
(New York, NY) State Senate Democratic members Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) and Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan) raised concerns that the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) recent stall of the planned acquisition of Energy East could prevent a lucrative investment opportunity for the state.
The Senators, both ranking members on two of the Senates energy oversight committees, noted that if Iberdola is successful in purchasing the Energy East, the parent company of two upstate New York power companies, they would subsequently invest more than $2 billion in wind power.
Senator Parker (committee) said that “with the volatility of fossil fuel costs and the State’s commitment to a green energy policy under Governor David Paterson, it is mind boggling that the Commission seems prepared to embrace the discredited market driven, Enron style policies of the late ‘90’s and early 2000’s.”
Energy East has stakes in investments within several states, which include New York. Preventing the deal to go through would ultimately risk losing millions of dollars in investment for the state.
Senator Perkins stated that with gas prices at an all-time high it is top priority to introduce alternative energy sources to New York State.
“We cannot afford to be behind any longer in the quest to develop alternative energy. States like California have begun to address renewable energy ownership and have seen benefits. Our reliance on foreign oil has strained our economy to the maximum and the state has begun to feel it to the point that next year we are looking at a deficit of billions of dollars.”
In 2000, California utilities experienced financial difficulties, leading to the bankruptcy of PG & E that took several years to come out of. Both Senators fear missing this opportunity could lead to similar circumstances.
Commission staff members are cautious of the deal due to the absence of guarantees that Energy East will not engage in anti-competitive practices.
Senator Parker concluded, “my colleague, Senator Perkins, and I look forward to leading our respective committees in the areas of energy and administrative regulation. It is our fervent hope, that come January of 2009, we will not preside over a New York that has not squandered a golden energy opportunity in renewable electric generation.”
Posted by News LI Editor · Filed Under Business
Have a press release or local story you would like us to review? Let us know about it!
| You can Bookmark & Share this page by clicking here: |
|
More Long Island News
-
Long Island Exchange is the leading resource on Long Island New York for news and business. Find Long Island news, check local weather, real estate, classifieds, and auto dealer listings for Long Island.
News Comments for this Article
One Response to “Senate Democrats Urge Public Service Commission to Support $4.5 Billion Energy Acquisition of Energy East”
Got something to say? Be sure you've read and understand our (Terms of Service)
You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. More...
These urban politicians have no respect for upstate land. Filling upstate open spaces with wind turbines higher than the Statue of Liberty will have no impact on gas prices–until perhaps we start driving electric cars. Even their contribution to electricity generation cannot justify the public money being given away to wind farm developers: turbine manufacturer GE Energy reported recently to NYSERDA that industrial wind generates only 10% of its rated capacity, making it the least efficient renewable energy source. Moreover, because wind is intermittent, polluting baseload plants must be built to backup wind-generated electricity, eliminating almost all the promised emissions reduction. In reality, the wind developers are involved in an Enron-type scam on the public and its representatives.
- Posted by: ecoreason