Barrett to PSC: Abandon Power Line Project

Assemblymember Didi Barrett was in Churchtown on Saturday to hear Gidon Eshel, physicist and research professor at Bard College, present his analysis of the need for the "energy superhighway," the transmission line upgrades that would scar the Hudson Valley. 

Today Barrett send a letter to the Public Service Commission urging that, in light of the new evidence, the project be abandoned. Barrett's letter reads in part: "[I]ndependent research has been presented by Dr. Gidon Eshel of Bard College that illustrates this project as both 'anti-competitive and unnecessary.' Dr. Eshel's findings clearly show that upon completion of the generation projects currently in queue, even in the event of a 'one in one-hundred' scenario of increased demand, the supply would still exceed demand. . . . Given all the new information, I urge the PSC to close down the current Alternating Current Transmission Upgrades Proceedings and look at the real needs before moving forward. We have an opportunity to be innovative and visionary in our energy policies in New York State. We have leadership that is committed to Reforming the Energy Vision. Let this project be part of the future, not the past."