Law: Build the 'energy highway' to LI

Kevin S. Law, a former president and chief executive of the Long Island Power Authority, is president of the Long Island Association, the area's largest business organization.

In his recent State of the State message and budget address, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced New York would partner with private companies to build an "energy highway" capable of bringing excess power from upstate and Canada to our downstate region, where energy demand is greatest. That's good news for all New Yorkers, including residents and businesses on Long Island and in New York City.

Long Island (including Brooklyn and Queens), Staten Island and Manhattan are islands in more ways than one. There are physical limits on how much energy can flow on the state's transmission grid to our region from up north. As a result, Long Islanders and city residents essentially live on energy islands. There are some transmission lines that connect Long Island to the rest of the state and Connecticut and New Jersey. But Long Island must meet certain reliability standards, and must satisfy all of its energy demand itself, with on-island power generation. New York City must meet 80 percent of its electricity demand with in-city generation.

In upstate New York and Canada, there's a diverse mix of energy supplies -- natural gas, nuclear, hydropower, wind, biomass and coal. That broad range means that when prices for one type of fuel increase, other resources are available to hedge against price spikes, and if supplies of one fuel are disrupted, others are there to serve the load. Despite good efforts to introduce more renewable sources of energy on Long Island, we don't have the luxury of the abundant supplies up north, and that has had a negative effect on local attempts to control rates.

As the governor stated, just as we built the New York State Thruway to unite distant parts of the state, we should develop an energy highway system to connect and bring excess energy and renewable energy from upstate to downstate.

Similar transmission projects have been proposed in the past and many stopped short of aiding Long Island. In fact, when I was running the Long Island Power Authority, I proposed a transmission line from Canada to Port Jefferson to bring Canadian hydropower to our region. But given the previous dysfunction in Albany, big ideas and big projects fell on deaf ears.

Now, under the leadership of Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan), big ideas and big projects are on the table again.

So what should the governor examine when moving forward with his exciting initiative?

First, who will make the estimated $2-billion investment? There are opportunities for private utilities to compete or co-venture on new transmission lines. There should also be interest among private developers to finance and build transmission infrastructure. All investor-owned utilities, interested private investors and developers, and our power authorities should be involved.

Second, this is the right time to invest in smart-grid technology. We live in the 21st century, but have a 20th century grid. A smart transmission system would reduce energy loss along the lines and integrate renewable sources of energy.

Finally, in addition to tapping upstate and Canadian renewable energy, the state should also consider submarine transmission cables that would allow Long Island to access renewable energy, like offshore wind projects proposed off of Long Island, New England and New Jersey. In fact, all these projects may complement each other, diversifying our energy portfolio and further connecting our downstate islands to the rest of the country -- just as Cuomo has proposed.

The governor is right to lead the charge on an energy highway. An efficient, reliable grid is the backbone of our economy. Investment in our grid will create thousands of jobs now and position us well for a knowledge-based economy that most certainly will increase our insatiable appetite for energy in the future.