New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) invites public comments on a petition in which New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) has asked the Commission to allow the company to expand its natural gas service in the Town of Plattsburgh, Clinton County. The Commission may approve, approve with changes, or reject NYSEG’s petition in whole or in part.

Public statement hearings will be held before Rafael A. Epstein, the Administrative Law Judge assigned by the Commission to hear this case.

There will be an opportunity for informal discussion before the scheduled start of each hearing session. At 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., each session may start with a procedural conference so that any person may offer and explain proposals regarding the procedures to be followed by the Administrative Law Judge and the Commission in this case.

Members of the public may provide their comments regarding this matter at public statement hearings. It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance, or present written material to speak at the hearings. Persons will be called to speak after completing a request card. All comments at the hearings will be transcribed and become part of the Commission's formal record.

Disabled persons requiring special accommodations may place a collect call to the Department of Public Service's Human Resources Management Office at 518-474-2520. TDD users may request a sign language interpreter by placing a call through the New York Relay Service at 711.

Public Statement Hearings

Plattsburgh: December, 12, 2012

3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.*

Clinton Community College
Ronald E. Stafford Center Theatre, Room 101
136 Clinton Point Drive
Plattsburgh, NY  12901

(The Stafford Center is in the southeast corner of the campus, on Bellarmine Drive, with adjoining parking lots.)

 *The 3:00 p.m. hearing will remain open until 6:00 p.m.  The 7:00 p.m. hearing will adjourn no earlier than 8:00 p.m. and will remain open until everyone wishing to speak has been heard or other reasonable arrangements are made.

Background

NYSEG holds a franchise from the Town of Plattsburgh which authorizes the company to provide natural gas service throughout the Town. In a certificate issued June 27, 1997, the Commission authorized NYSEG to exercise that franchise in certain parts of the Town by building pipelines and a small regulator station. In the certificate amendment that NYSEG now proposes, the Commission would authorize NYSEG to serve the entire Town, subject to the economic, environmental, and other requirements applicable at any given location.

NYSEG’s petition states two objectives. First, the amendment would enable NYSEG to extend main and service lines to Nova Bus, a large manufacturer which seeks to build and operate a fueling station to prepare its compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled buses for delivery to purchasers. NYSEG proposes to support this expansion, and potentially serve other gas customers in the same industrial park occupied by Nova Bus, by placing a 2" main northerly for about 700 feet alongside Banker Road to the industrial park and thence a 2" service line for 780 feet along the Nova Bus driveway. The lines would be installed via open trench using a backhoe.

Second, the amendment would authorize NYSEG to provide service elsewhere in the Town of Plattsburgh, to the numerous actual and potential customers for whom natural gas is an attractive energy option.

How to Obtain Information

The Commission’s 1997 certificate may be viewed via the home page of the Commission’s website, www.dps.ny.gov, by clicking on "Search" and entering 97-G-0706 to "search by case number." To see NYSEG’s pending petition and all other documents filed in the present case, follow the same steps but enter 12-G-0499.

Other Ways to Comment on the Case:

In all instances, your comments should refer to "Case 12-G-0499 – NYSEG – Plattsburgh Gas Projects."  

• Via the Internet or In Writing:  Those who cannot attend or prefer not to speak at a public statement hearing may comment electronically to Hon. Jaclyn A. Brilling, Secretary, at [email protected] or by mail or delivery to Secretary Brilling at Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, New York 12223-1350.  Comments may also be entered directly into the case by locating the case as discussed in a prior section, and entering comments on the “Post Comments” located at the top of the page
  
  
• Toll-Free Opinion Line:  Another way to submit comments is by calling the Commission’s toll-free Opinion Line at 1-800-335-2120.  This line is set up to receive in-state calls 24-hours a day.  Callers should press “1” to leave comments regarding “Gas Issues”.

All comments by these methods must be received by the Secretary no later than December 17, 2012.  All such comments, together with all statements transcribed at the public statement hearings, will become part of the record, will be posted for public viewing on the Commission’s website at www.dps.ny.gov, and will be reported to the Commission for its consideration.

For a copy of the factsheet for this case, click here.