Power Lines Need to be Underground, Pols Say by Michael Cusenza - Queens Chronicle

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Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, left, and Rep. Anthony Weiner, right, discuss the dangers of overhead power lines with Middle Village residents on Monday. PHOTO BY MICHAEL CUSENZA

Tornadoes and a macroburst tore through parts of Queens on Sept. 16, leaving structural and arboreal damage on a massive scale. Streets and sidewalks in some areas, such as Middle Village, were also littered with tattered, downed power lines, highlighting what some elected officials and residents on Monday called a vulnerability with a clear, long-overdue remedy: putting overhead wires underground.

“It’s time for Con Ed to move us into the 21st century,” said City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village), just outside Juniper Valley Park. “Residents were left without electricity for days, while areas with power lines underground did not have to live with that situation.”

Crowley added that the overhead wires in Middle Village are unsightly, and when compromised by any storm, can be extremely dangerous.

“Downed power lines hampered the cleanup,” Crowley reported.

Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens and Brooklyn) and state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach) also signed a letter that Crowley sent to Con Ed President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burke back in October asking for the conversion.

“This is a common-sense proposal,” Weiner said on Monday, before noting how overhead lines have been a part of the area’s landscape for more than 100 years. “The time has long passed that we become a modern community in this modern city. The simple fact is Con Ed is trying to do things on the cheap.”

But a spokesman for the utility told the Chronicle that the conversion from overhead to underground is prohibitively expensive: $6 million per mile of line and it would require customers to pay electricians anywhere from $7,000 to $20,000 to complete the switch.

“Outages would be fewer but take 60 percent longer to repair, and there’s a higher maintenance cost,” said Con Ed spokesman Alfonso Quiroz regarding the underground system.

Quiroz went on to say one of the positives of overhead lines is that repairs are made quickly, because engineers can see and access the lines more immediately.

Community Board 5 member John Schell said that area residents are not only concerned about Con Ed power lines.

“When we have a storm, it also interrupts the service of the telephone and cable television,” he noted.

Additionally, Crowley said in the letter that the removal of the overhead grid would benefit commercial districts.

“The upgrade to safe, reliable and sightly power will be a dramatic boost for local small businesses,” she wrote.

Weiner characterized Con Ed as being “comfortable with the status quo.”

“This is not about convenience, it’s also about quality of life,” he said.

Con Ed to Pay $1 Million to Settle Inquiry Into Fatal Explosion by Patrick McGeehan - City Room Blog - NYTimes.com

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State utilities regulators agreed on Thursday to allow Consolidated Edison to pay $1 million to end an investigation into an April 2009 gas explosion that destroyed a house in Queens and killed one of its residents.

The state’s Public Service Commission approved a settlement that calls for the utility to take the money from its shareholders and set it aside for customers.

The commission has not yet decided whether the money should be used to offset an impending increase in Con Edison’s gas rates or if it should benefit customers in another way.

The state’s Department of Public Service investigated the explosion, which occurred after Con Ed workers arrived at the site in the Floral Park neighborhood in response to a report of gas odor. A report of the investigation concluded that the company had violated its procedures for responding to gas leaks. The explosion killed Ghanwatti Boodram, 40, a nurse and the mother of three.

The $1 million settlement came in lieu of any penalties the commission might have levied against the utility for its handling of the gas leak. It is equivalent to the maximum $250,000 penalty the commission could have sought for each of the four violations Con Ed was cited for.

“This resolution of the penalty issues related to the alleged gas safety code violations obtains the maximum amount that the commission could have obtained had it fully litigated a civil penalty action in this case,” said Garry A. Brown, the public service commission chairman. “This decision is in the interest of ratepayers because it provides a direct benefit to ratepayers that could not be achieved under an enforcement action.”

In a statement, Con Edison said: “We expect today’s agreement with Public Service Commission will fund a variety of new equipment and public safety improvements that will enhance emergency response and communications.”

Con Edison Blocks State-Supported Energy Saving Program By Jasmin K. Williams - Special to the AmNews

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Angry homeowners and community leaders gathered in front of the Con Edison building at 4 Irving Plaza in Manhattan for a press conference and to protest the utility company’s efforts to thwart the Green Jobs/Green NY program, a new initiative that will finance energy saving retrofits for low- and moderate-income homeowners. The program will also create 60,000 green jobs.The Green Jobs/Green NY bill was passed in 2009.

The gathering was organized by Sustainable South Bronx, Laborers Local 10, the Hunger Action Network, Envirolution and New York Communities for Change and the Center for Working Families.

Green Jobs/Green NY is a residential energy efficiency program that will allow homeowners access to retrofits that will decrease energy bills. This program allows a homeowner to pay back the cost of the retrofit with the funds that they save.

“Homeowners would get an audit, determining what type of work would be necessary to properly insulate the home. The cost of the work, covered upfront by the program, would then be paid back as part of the homeowner’s utility bill.

“The costs are calibrated so that there’s no increase in monthly utility payments as long as the energy usage behavior remains the same. Homeowners will see a decrease in their energy bill once the retrofit takes place and more so when the loan is paid off,” said Chloe Tribich from the Center for Working Families.

What makes this different from other such programs is that the funds come from private capital. The government has $112 million allotted for such green initiative programs. Private sources have also donated money to this program, which will also create green jobs. Lenders, who normally would not lend to small businesses or homeowners who don’t meet income requirements or who have shaky credit, invest
in a fund that pools many small loans. This makes funds available to those who would not normally qualify for them.

Con Edison’s push back is that accommodating the program would require them to update and recode their billing system to include the loan line item. They are additionally concerned that this might cause homeowners not to pay their bill on time, but the program is already calibrated in a way that no increased monthly cost is incurred. The bill will decrease once the retrofits are in place, protesters claim, adding that this type of “one-bill” financing is the safest financial option for homeowners who need these energy saving options but who can’t get a traditional loan to cover the cost.

Additional info: Legislation

• Green Jobs - Green NY Bill
• Amendment

Senator Addabbo to Host Energy Savings for Small Businesses Forum in Ozone Park and Glendale...

Click on image to enlarge...

What:

Energy Saving for Small Businesses Forum with Con-Ed and National Grid

When:

Ozone Park - May 6th at St Mary Gate of Heaven 104-06 101st Avenue
Glendale May 13th - Glendale Memorial 72-02 Myrtle Avenue

Time:

7pm - 9pm

For further information contact Peter Delucia - 718-738-1111

NY Daily News: Victims of '06 Queens Blackout Have No Faith in Con Edison by Lisa L. Colangelo...

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Sunday, July 15th 2007, 4:00 AM

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Every time the temperature rises and a heat wave smothers the city, Ardian Skenderi crosses his fingers and hopes his Astoria restaurant won't lose power.

He's still reeling from last July's prolonged blackout, which cut power to 174,000 residents of western Queens. Many were without electricity for more than a week.

The blackout hit Skenderi hard. It cost his seafood restaurant, Taverna Kyclades, about $20,000, he said.

"You have to throw everything away," he said, referring to the thousands of pounds of fresh fish he carefully keeps on ice.

Astoria residents and merchants endured the worst of the blackout that began July 17, 2006.

They said the Bloomberg administration and Con Edison ignored their pleas for help. By the time Mayor Bloomberg showed up in the neighborhood and set up a command center, residents and store owners had suffered for days in the sweltering heat without help or hope.

"Last year we took care of ourselves," said Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria).

Gianaris worked with community groups and Council members Peter Vallone Jr. and Eric Gioia to get ice, water, generators and other emergency supplies to their western Queens districts.

"We have to be prepared to do it again this year," Gianaris said.

Con Ed officials have said they are doing everything they can to prevent another long-term blackout. And the utility giant has changed the way it keeps track of customers who lose service.

"We know we damaged our credibility with many customers, and we are working hard to rebuild it," said Con Edison spokesman Michael Clendenin. "We're committed to providing the best service that we can every day, and we've made the infrastructure investments to prove it."

City emergency management officials told the Daily News that they are tracking blackouts on their own rather than counting on Con Ed to figure out how many New Yorkers are without power.

After last year's Queens blackout, Harry Panagiotopoulos shelled out $4,000 to buy a generator for his Igloo Café on 31st St. He figures he lost well over $10,000 in inventory, and even more in business because of the power failure.

"We were down the entire time," he said. "We starting giving away ice cream. I felt like we were completely abandoned."

Merchants were eligible for up to $7,000 in reimbursements from Con Ed. But most said it didn't come close to making up their losses.

Panagiotopoulos is trying to safeguard against another blackout. Along with the emergency generator, he has bought several battery-powered fans.

But he admits he won't be able to keep his café completely open if there is a blackout.

"We're all expecting it to happen again," he said with a sigh.

Across the street, Alex Poulos remembers the chaos and broken promises.

"They kept saying the power would be back on tonight, tonight," said Poulos, who owns Soho, a café that he was forced to close for days. "The city should have given us generators after the second day."

lcolangelo@nydailynews.com