By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON. Oct. 11 -- New York Gov. George Pataki directed the New York Power Authority to transfer 80 Mw of electricity it had supplied the World Trade Center to businesses dislocated by the attack and are seeking to resume operations in New York City.
NYPA CEO Joseph Seymour said the electricity would save the companies more than $6 million/year and will play a key role in rebuilding the city in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 destruction of the World Trade Center.
Installation of 10 small, generators in New York City and another on Long Island intended to stave off threatened blackouts this past summer, provided "an unanticipated, but very real, benefit," after the terrorist attacks as well, Seymour said.
He noted transmission of power into the city and the output of larger power plants were cut as a precaution following the attacks. "The gas turbines came through," he said, "showing the strategic value of smaller, dispersed generation."
Separately, Pataki said the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority will begin receiving low cost power from the NYPA in a move that will continue to help the complex recover from the terrorist attacks. The NYPA board approve a new contract that provides Battery Park City with a nearly 25% reduction in the cost of its electricity.
Low cost power for the public spaces and parks in the area will help smooth the way for a full recovery for the Battery Park City community, Pataki said. Under the contract, the Battery Park City Authority (BPCA) is eligible for NYPA electricity use in its New York City public facilities.
The total amount of electricity used by the BPCA in public places at any one given time is 375 kw. BPCA is a public benefit corporation created to develop a 92-acre landfill at the southwestern tip of Manhattan.
