New Yorkers need cheaper energy. But at what price?
For a couple of decades at least, New York's economic growth woes have been tied to the extraordinarily high costs of electricity for business and, not incidentally, for consumers as well. We have the highest energy costs in the continental United States, twice as high as North Carolina's, and three times as high as West Virginia's.
Yet, since 2002, when Article 10 -- the state law covering the siting of new power plants -- lapsed, our ability to increase production and clean up what we've got has been hampered. That law might have offered a controversial gauntlet for industry to follow that was maddening even in its so-called expedited version, but at least it allowed a few power plants to be built.
Steve Mitnick, Gov. Spitzer's point man on energy, is shopping around an alternative Article 10 to various stakeholders. A broad range of opinion from both the energy industry and environmental watchdog groups is largely negative so far, so a re-writing before we see legislation is likely.
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