CHENANGO COUNTY – A national energy official and several other witnesses representing state and national agencies were questioned during a hearing Wednesday on Capital Hill as to the necessity of federal legislation that could override long-standing state energy policies.
Guided by the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the U.S. Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission could override state authority and – in New York state – push through projects like the New York Regional Interconnection power line.
According to a Congressman Michael Arcuri’s office, the congressman specifically questioned Kevin Kovelar, the Department of Energy’s Director of Electricity and Energy Reliability, as to why some states, like Texas, were exempt from energy legislation.
An Arcuri spokesperson said Thursday morning that the congressman did not get a good response, adding that Kovelar could not explain why Texas was exempt.
Chris Miller, the president of the Piedmont Environmental Council located in Virginia, testified at the hearing and believes it made a positive dent in the controversial provisions of the energy policy act.
“I think the panel was very representative of the kinds of concerns that are being recognized,” Miller said Thursday in a phone interview with The Evening Sun. “Taking states out of this process means federal bureaucrats will be making decisions from a distance.”
Miller said statements by witness Paul Tonko, a New York State Assemblyman who chairs the Assembly Energy Commission, stood out.
“He made very effective statements about how intrusive this provision is into the controversial topic of utility citing,” Miller said.
In a press release, Arcuri reportedly pointed out a question that’s lingered for over a year: Are private interests, rather than public need, the basis for the federal government’s push under the 2005 Energy Policy act to override state authority and allow NYRI’s power line to be approved?
“To be honest, it seems that the only group to support this proposal is the company (NYRI) itself,” said U.S. Representative Michael Arcuri (D-Utica), addressing the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday afternoon. “I can only hope that the Department of Energy doesn’t turn a deaf ear to the overwhelming strong vocal opposition the NYRI proposal is responsible for.”
Under the energy act, the DOE can designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors in states that are deemed to have critical energy constraints. Areas inside corridors could then fall under FERC jurisdiction; supplanting state authority even if a power line project is denied.
According to Miller, Kovelar said the DOE was reconsidering how it will designate corridors, considering the opposition his department has received.
“He (Kovelar) did not look happy,” Miller said, adding that Kovelar said preliminary designations may be coming soon.
Full transcripts of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing yesterday were not available Thursday morning. Messages left for Kovelar and NYRI officials were not returned.