Energy is Hot Topic at Somers Town Board Meeting
Energy was a major topic of discussion at the February 8 Somers Town Board meeting.
Supervisor Rick Morrissey discussed the meeting he and other local government leaders had with the new head of NYSEG recently, while the co-chairs of the town’s Energy Environment Committee presented the board with ideas for LED street lights and solar power panels on the roofs of town-owned buildings.
Fed up with too frequent power outages, Morrissey and other government officials from Putnam and Dutchess counties met with NYSEG President and Chief Executive Officer Carl Taylor on January 24.
Morrissey said state Public Service Commission officials are scheduled to come to town in March to investigate the town’s concerns about the power outages and meet with Somers officials on the matter.
Morrissey said last month he had been troubled by the outages, which he maintained could be prevented by the utility. The Christmas Day power outage in Somers knocked out power for more than 1,000 homes, including many Heritage Hill residences, for as much as 10 hours, he said. The Christmas power outage came from difficulties at the Croton Falls substation, Morrissey noted.
North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas and Morrissey wrote a January 3 letter to the state Public Service Commission outlining their concerns as a “formal complaint.”
“The alarming number and length of power outages has become a significant public safety issue,” Morrissey and Lucas stated in their letter. “We are on a dangerous course that, if not remediated, may have serious implications for our citizens.”
“The abnormal frequency and length of power outages are occurring at a rate never witnessed by our communities,” Morrissey and Lucas stated. “There has been a clear degradation of services on the part of NYSEG, and with winter at our doorstep, the situation has become untenable.”
Morrissey said Taylor was receptive to the government officials’ concerns and told them that residents with power outages should contact NYSEG for information. In addition, they emphasized that municipal officials should not have to act as public relations agents for the utility by having to provide the information on their own.
Energy Environment Committee proposals
Also at last week’s Town Board meeting, the co-chairs of the Somers Energy Environment, Jerry Stern and Don Bleasdale, unveiled their proposals to change to town’s street lights to LEDs and place solar energy panels on the roofs of town owned buildings.
Stern said a $50,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority was available that could be used to replace all of the town’s 230 street lights with LEDs. The cost is $100 per LED fixture, he said. Bleasdale said the LEDs have 20-year life spans.
Stern suggested that the town could save $20,000 annually by taking ownership of the light poles from NYSEG.
Morrissey said the town should consider seeking the $50,000 state grant to replace HVAC systems in town buildings. Stern said it would be difficult to prove to the state that new HVAC systems would save enough money to qualify for the grant.
Stern and Bleasdale said they would continue the process of seeking the NHSERDA grant.
The Town Board agreed to the request from Stern and Bleasdale to allow the Pennsylvania-based Energy in the Bank to come to a meeting to present their proposal to provide free solar energy panels on town property. While the town is open to the idea, Morrissey and Town Attorney Roland Baroni said solar panels could not be placed on dedicated recreation areas, but could be placed on roofs of town facilities.
Morrissey told Stern and Bleasdale that some potential sites for the solar panel include the roofs of Highway Department buildings, the Van Tassell House barn and the public library.
