Letters to the Editor for May 15

National Grid plan would help save both energy and money

National Grid is committed to helping its customers save money on their energy costs and reducing their energy use, in turn contributing to New York state’s overall goal of reducing that use by 15 percent by 2015.

To achieve these goals, we have taken action by announcing an expanded portfolio of energy efficiency programs with the fundamental objective of advancing the most efficient use of energy possible to reduce overall demand and lower customer bills. The proposal is also consistent with the state Public Service Commission’s objective of expanding energy efficiency.

As energy costs rise, customers are increasingly turning to their utility to find solutions. At National Grid, we believe we have a special relationship with our customers that allows us a unique opportunity to work with them directly to help reduce their energy use. These programs have the potential to help all of our customers and complement existing programs currently in place through the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

We have proposed funding these new programs through the systems benefits charges on monthly customer bills. We believe this short-term investment will have long-term benefits, including reduced demand and increased efficiency that will outweigh the costs while providing long-term benefits to individual customers and the environment as a whole. In fact, the estimated costs of $220 million for this program are expected to reap lifetime benefits of $350 million in energy savings.

National Grid has a 20-year track record of successful, award-winning efficiency programs in New England, and this proposal leverages that experience for the benefit of its upstate New York customers.

Awareness of climate change and the need for action is gaining momentum with governments, businesses and individuals. National Grid is taking action by looking for new ways to deliver energy and encourage an energy-efficient lifestyle to its customers. This proposal takes the first steps to finding those new ways of bringing the interests of the company, our customers’ and critical public policy together to achieve the goal of increased energy efficiency.

Susan M. Crossett

Syracuse

The writer is vice president of energy solution services.

Schenectady surplus story left out best part

The Gazette’s May 6 coverage of Schenectady’s 2007 financial audit unfortunately reported just one-third of the story.

While Kathleen Moore’s article was a technically correct assessment of the budget surplus achieved in 2007, her story missed the real news; that is, the significance of Schenectady’s third consecutive budget surplus and its cumulative impact on city taxpayers.

Schenectady now has an unreserved, cumulative fund balance of $10.4 million, and our financial situation is stronger today than it has been in decades. But that important and compelling fact was missed by the Gazette.

Yes, as reported, the audited financial statements show the city finished 2007 with a total general fund surplus of $8.3 million. After setting aside funding reserves for tax stabilization, debt reduction, capital construction, employee retirement contributions and other future financial obligations, the unreserved surplus for the year nets out at $2.3 million.

[But] the $2.3 million unreserved surplus for 2007 is on top of an $8.1 million unreserved surplus from 2005 and 2006. The result is nearly a $10.4 million unreserved fund balance. That is a more-than-$20-million swing from four years ago.

With the news of the city’s double-digit budget surplus, Schenectady’s credit rating — once the lowest in the state — has again been raised by the Moody’s and Standard & Poors’ rating agencies. A higher credit rating will further reduce the cost of borrowing, ensure the city’s continued financial stability and help to stabilize property taxes.

Brian U. Stratton

Schenectady

The writer is mayor of Schenectady.

Beware predicted hiatus in global warming trend

German climatologists are predicting a brief global warming hiatus until 2015 [May 4 Gazette’s Earthweek]. They stated they have detected a natural variation in gulfstream currents that will more than negate the contribution of increasing greenhouse gases. The forecast means that the normal flow of equatorial heat to the polar region transported by warm ocean currents is expected to diminish during the next few years.

Humanity shouldn’t be too quick to gloat about ocean currents mitigating global warming. The polar ice caps have melted much faster than predicted. A majority of weather experts have long opined that the increasing quantities of fresh cold water from rapidly melting Arctic ice would impact ocean currents.

If the predicted worst-case scenario should occur, the ocean current energy conveyer belt will not merely slow down, it will shut down, beginning an irreversible ice age. The heat transferred from equatorial regions balances the polar cold, which maintains the delicate glacial equilibrium. Without that counterbalance, polar ice will slowly extend, reflect increasing amounts of solar energy, accelerating the cooldown. The temperate zone and the “world’s breadbasket” would soon become too cold to feed the world. Remember, the world has frozen, pole to pole, twice before — it could again.

We should all hope this subtle change in ocean currents isn’t the harbinger of a major cooldown. It should be a wake-up call, not an “all clear!”

Wallace J. Hughes

Charlton

Capital District Youth Chorale worth hearing

This is a letter I have been wanting to write for quite a while now. It’s about this amazing group that, for many, may seem like a little-known secret. It is celebrating its 25th season at a concert May 18 at Union College (May 11 Gazette]. This tremendous singing group is the Capital District Youth Chorale, or CDYC.

The leadership of Mrs. Diane Warner and Mr. James McGarvey is about as good as it gets. The levels achieved by local youths is nothing short of brilliant, an almost perfect harmony. What really makes it so amazing is the way they are taught with such a quiet and subtle expertise.

I have seen them perform with the Albany Symphony, an opera, and in Albany Pro Musica. Their songs have included almost every ethnic background, folk and traditional styles imaginable!

Major kudos to the local talent and a standing ovation to Mrs. Warner and Mr. McGarvey!

Jamie Lichorat

Schenectady

Letters Policy

The Gazette wants your opinions on public issues.

There is no strict word limit, though letters under 200 words are preferred.

All letters are subject to editing for length, style and fairness, and we will run no more

than one letter per month from the same writer.

Please include your signature, address and day phone for verification.

For information on how to send, see bottom of this page.

For more letters, visit our Web site: www.dailygazette.com

May 15, 2008
3:27 p.m.

[ Suggest removal ]

vernon ( no real name given ) says...

Susan M Crossett's comments about National Grid's ability to serve the Capital District's environmental and energy needs is very optimistic. Given National Grid wants to apply for an RDM(revenue decoupling mechanism) to allow it to increase rates as energy usage drops, as allowed by the PSC, it is hard to see how National Grid can be following sound economic capitalistic policies of free trade and protecting the private sector let alone any enviormental initiatives. Last I looked encouraging someone to not lower prices as the market contracts thus hoping to gain more business(profits) is not the foundation of a capitalistic economy. The RDM policy is treating National Grid as a monopoly by encouraging it to destroy a free trade mechanism. What has become obvious is that the PSC truly believes all utilities are really monopolies. If so I can't understand why they are allowed to exist since other monopolies crucial to the public welfare (water authorities,bridge authorites,highway authorities,indeed the Federal Reserve itself) are formed and allowed to operate. Why not the utilities?
With fuel costs rising and labor costs rising it is no wonder the utlilies want more money. However the public can no longer support corporate, shareholder's interests and still pay for needed facility improvements. To save the infrastructure and develope new facilities it is only a matter of time before New York must decouple the profit motive from providing these services and place it in a non profit authority where all the resources go to support their communities as well as deliver electricity and gas. Free trade policies can no longer exist in this monopolistic atmosphere. The faster we take control of these facilites the faster we can use large scale buying power to get the best price for fuel as well as achieive new economies of scale.
Just a thought but sooner or latter the private sector is going to want to bail out of these industries since they can't make a profit. At that time the public will be left holding a bag of deteriorated and decaying facilities which will cost multiple times more to repair than if we act now.