RG&E Plans $75 Million Transmission Upgrade

Democrat & Chronicle

10-01-2003

Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. on Tuesday asked the state Public Service Commission to approve a $75 million project to improve and expand its electricity delivery system.

The project, which would mostly upgrade substations and power lines, is needed to deal with the power void when RG&E in 2007 closes its 55-year-old coal-fired Russell Station plant on the Lake Ontario shore in Greece.

“Completion of this project will ensure that RG&E will be able to continue to provide its customers with reliable, essential service,” RG&E said in a statement.

The utility says it has determined that state environmental regulations would make it too costly to operate Russell Station past 2007.

Details of the utility’s system improvement, scheduled to begin in 2005, were outlined in a filing with the PSC. PSC officials were unavailable for comment on the plan Tuesday.

RG&E included the project as part of its current request before the PSC to raise average electricity rates 15 percent for its 355,000 customers.

The upgrades to RG&E’s electric transmission system, which connects to the statewide transmission grid, would include 32.3 miles of new or rebuilt transmission lines and equipment upgrades at substations in Rochester, Henrietta, Brighton, Chili, Gates and Greece, RG&E said. The utility is also proposing a new 5.7-mile transmission line, a new substation and equipment upgrades at several existing substations in Wayne County.

RG&E is still putting the finishing touches on the final project and will then notify affected towns and municipalities.

“We will be performing detailed engineering over the next few months to finalize the construction plans,” said Clyde Forbes, an RG&E spokesman.

The utility is hoping for PSC approval by spring 2005.