LIPA challenging power plant assessments

The Long Island Power Authority has filed challenges to the assessments of power plants in Glenwood Landing and Island Park, as it continues its campaign to lower the amount it pays in taxes on National Grid-owned plants.

The cases, filed for the 2011-12 tax year, are the second round of grievances registered by LIPA. Lynda Nicolino, LIPA's general counsel, confirmed the initial administrative filings concerning the E.F. Barrett plant in Island Park and the Glenwood Landing plant were filed in Nassau County in March. She said petitions in State Supreme Court would be filed later this month.

Calls to several village and school district officials in the affected regions were not returned Friday.

LIPA pays relatively high taxes on the plants in part to compensate residents and businesses that agreed, in some cases decades ago, to host them. But the authority said hefty annual increases have pushed assessments beyond reasonable levels.

Mark Grossman, a LIPA spokesman, said the authority "will continue to pay property taxes to municipalities that host generating facilities and LIPA-owned equipment, but it should not be unfairly burdened with taxes that ultimately are passed on to all of our customers."

Last year, LIPA and National Grid filed to challenge the assessment of two other Long Island plants, in Northport and Port Jefferson. Both are also owned by National Grid. LIPA's contracts for energy from the plants expire in May 2013.

Last week, LIPA reached a temporary settlement with the Village of Port Jefferson that reduces the assessment on the Port Jefferson plant from $11,860,945 to $10,674,852. The agreement will last for a year while a permanent solution is worked out, LIPA and village officials said.

LIPA pays just less than $500 million annually in state and local taxes and assessments. Of that, $181 million pays taxes on properties owned by National Grid.