Bill would allow LIPA to tap cheap power

A state assemblyman from Bayport has introduced a bill that would clear the way for the Long Island Power Authority to access cheap electricity from a Niagara Falls hydropower plant.

But as the bill seeks a Senate sponsor, observers say it could face opposition from influential lawmakers upstate, where the cheap hydropower is a closely guarded commodity. The company that produces the cheaper power says there's nothing available to distribute to Long Island.

The measure, introduced late last month by Assemb. Alfred Graf, a Republican, would remove a restriction in state law that prevents LIPA from buying the cheap "preference" hydropower. Graf said the measure would help LIPA dramatically lower energy costs, which account for more than half of LIPA bills. Power from the plant costs about a penny a kilowatt hour, compared with the roughly 9 cents LIPA pays now, Graf said.

The Niagara facility has a capacity of 2,400 megawatts, the largest energy producer in the state. It's run by the New York Power Authority.

Graf said the bill is needed to help give a boost to local residents and businesses staggering under the weight of the nation's third-highest electricity rates.

If "you want economic development on Long Island, you have to deal with the cost of power," he said. "Think of how many things this affects."

LIPA spokeswoman Vanessa Bair-Streeter said the authority "is in support of any opportunity to diversify our portfolio and have access to additional low-cost power for the benefit of our customers."

But the bill faces hurdles. The cheap energy helps keep electricity rates low for upstate lawmakers' constituents and businesses, some of which have remained in the region specifically because electricity is inexpensive there.

State Sen. Kenneth LaValle (R-Port Jefferson) said while he supports cheaper power and a broader discussion of how to achieve it, he doesn't think the bill has a chance of passing because upstate lawmakers will oppose it.

In a statement Tuesday night, NYPA said its leaders have not spoken with Graf about his bill, but "all NYPA hydro resources from its large hydro facilities are fully committed and allocated to the upstate region."

The restriction barring LIPA from buying the hydropower was added to state law in the 1990s as a way to get upstate lawmakers to agree to the bill that formed LIPA.

Graf said an allocation of the power for LIPA could be negotiable with upstate lawmakers, in exchange for Long Island lawmakers' support for hydrofracking natural-gas mining measures.