WHEREAS, the appropriate allocation of hydroelectric power produced at the facilities of the New York Power Authority at its Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Projects is of great importance to the people of New York State; and
WHEREAS, the impending expiration of many contracts for such power in 1985 and 1990 and the attendant need for planning and regulatory action prompt consideration of the future allocation of such power; and
WHEREAS, recent rulings by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) raise important and difficult questions about the future allocation of Power Authority hydroelectric power; and
WHEREAS, FERC has declared and acknowledged that allocations of hydroelectric power within New York State are of almost exclusive interest to the State and should be appropriately addressed and resolved by New York State; and
WHEREAS, a complete and thorough study of the current and potential future disposition of Power Authority hydroelectric power will assist in the development of appropriate executive and legislative action in regard to the disposition of such power;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mario M. Cuomo, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and Laws of the State of New York, do hereby order as follows:
I. There is hereby established within the Executive Chamber a temporary commission of nine persons to be known as the Temporary Commission on Allocation of Power Authority Hydroelectric Power (the "Commission"). The members of the Commission shall be appointed by the Governor and a chairman shall be named by the Governor. The members of the Commission shall receive no compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for any necessary expenses incurred in connection with the performance of their duties.II. The commission shall make a complete and thorough study of the current disposition and future allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Projects of the Power Authority of the State of New York through the terms of the existing Federal licenses. It shall make recommendations on how this power may be used to the maximum benefit of the State. Such study and recommendations shall include, but not be limited to: a. The legal requirements of the Niagara Redevelopment Act ( P.L. 85-159 ), the Federal Power Act, the Power Authority Act, the Power Authority's licenses for operation of the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Projects, the State Energy Law, and other applicable laws and regulations;b. The decisions of FERC regarding the allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Projects and other related administrative or judicial decisions;c. The benefits derived from the current allocation of hydroelectric power to residential, commercial and industrial recipients and to the State as a whole;d. The economic consequences to rural and domestic customers, to other customers served either directly or indirectly through municipal and rural electric cooperative systems or investor-owned utilities, and to the State as a whole from the allocation of hydroelectric power to any current recipient or class of recipients, or to any new recipient or class of recipients, with particular emphasis upon expansion power users and other existing or potential industrial customers;e. The relationship between power sales and revenues from the Niagara and St. Lawrence River Projects and power sales and revenues from other Power Authority Projects;f. Alternative programs to comply with and/or alleviate the adverse impacts of Federal and State statutes and regulations governing the allocation of hydroelectric power from the Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Projects, including, but not limited to, the expansion of the Niagara Power project, the importation of hydroelectric power from Canada, the availability of power from the Power Authority's other existing or planned projects, and the implementation of energy conservation measures;g. Recommendation of a method or methods of allocating Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project hydroelectric power that will maximize the benefits of such power to the people of the State as a whole, with particular emphasis placed upon using such hydroelectric power to retain current jobs and to encourage the creation of new jobs throughout New York State;h. Recommendations as to appropriate amendments to the Power Authority Act and/or enactment of additional State legislation required to implement the method or methods of allocation recommended by the Commission and an analysis of the need, if any, to change or clarify existing State statutory requirements relating to the sale of Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR Project hydroelectric power to domestic, rural, commercial and industrial consumers.III. Every State department, division, board, bureau, commission, council, public authority and agency shall provide assistance and cooperate as necessary for the accomplishment of the purposes of this order.IV. The Commission shall make a report, including recommendations for legislative action, to the Governor and the Legislature on or before October first, nineteen eighty-three. Signed: Mario M. CuomoDated: July 25, 1983
[FN*] [Revoked by Executive Order No. 31 (George E. Pataki), infra. ]
[FN[DAGGER]] [Revoked by Executive Order No. 5 (Eliot Spitzer), infra.]
[Revoked by Executive Order No. 9 (David A. Paterson), infra.]
[Revoked by Executive Order No. 2 (Andrew M. Cuomo), infra.]
N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 4.20