Repaving Schuylerville

A section of Broad Street in Schuylerville.

It’s about time. Broad Street in the village of Schuylerville, New York was finally given a new coat of blacktop this past week. Thousands of drivers who pass through here each day can now roll across a smooth, pothole free surface. Thank you New York State Department of Transportation. The road was resurfaced from the area of Champlain Canal Lock 5, about one mile north of the light where Route 29 turns south, all the way past Byron’s Market to where the Fish Creek goes under Route 4 just before the Schuyler House.

The picture on the left shows the intersection of Routes 29, 4 and 32 in Schuylerville. That is the Cumberland farms store in the picture. It is more commonly called “Cumbys” in upstate New York. I buy all of my gasoline at this station. Double-click on the picture to enlarge it.

Route 29 is a major east west route in this area of New York. Thousands of drivers everyday use it to commute or travel from the Greenwich and Cambridge areas and parts of Vermont to the Adirondack Northway (Route 87), Saratoga Springs and the Wilton Mall area. Except for the Route 4 bridge just north of Schuylerville, which is an older, narrow, steel deck bridge that large trucks can’t use,  you would have to travel 10 miles or so north to Fort Edward or 10 miles or so south to Stillwater to cross the Hudson River.

Route 29 goes east for 12 miles after passing through Saratoga Springs and turns right when it hits Broad Street in Schuylerville.   For a short stretch between the two traffic lights, Broad Street is Route 29, Route 4 and Route 32 at the same time. After a few hundred yards, Route 29 turns left and continues east across the Hudson River. Route 4 and 32 continue south for another two hundred yards or so.

Looking north towards Byron's Market.

After passing Byron’s Market and Burgoyne Road, Route 32 branches off to the right while Route 4 continues south. (If you stand on the sidewalk in front of Byron’s you can look up Burgoyne Road and see the Saratoga Battle Monument).

This mile or so of road through Schuylerville was a total disaster and one of the worst roads in the area until the recent paving. It had been dug up and patched for years. Heavy trucks of all kinds turning, starting, and stopping at the two traffic lights while they traveled through the village, took its toll on the road. It was especially dangerous for motorcycles and bicycles. They had to watch out for old trolley tracks, loose bricks, and potholes.

The new blacktop makes the entire village look better. I can’t wait for the Turning Point Parade to march down it on Sunday, August 1, 2010.

Route 29 at the Hudson River in Washington County.

Route 29 is being repaved just across the river in the town of Easton, in Washington County, too. From the Hudson River bridge to the top of the hill just past where the old Some Place Else restaurant used to be, it is now all new blacktop. The slow vehicle lane is being extended also. The old lane was very short and narrow. Even if a truck or a farm tractor pulled over to let somebody pass, there wasn’t much time. The new lane will be wide enough for a truck or farm tractor to safely use it and long enough for cars to pass the slow moving vehicles.

Here is a link to an article on Wired.com called, “McAdam Paves the Way.” He was born on September 21, (the day this post was written) in 1756 and did a lot to improve the roads of his day.

The main intersection in the village of Schuylerville. One of the two traffic lights in the village.

Looking north at the Hudson River from the Route 29 bridge linking Saratoga and Washington Counties.

I would like to hear what you think.

Why Are Electric Rates So High In New York?

New York State has the third highest residential electric rates in the United States; only Connecticut and Hawaii have higher rates. New York is 19.48 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), Connecticut is 20.24, and Hawaii is 36.94 cents per kWh.

The average retail price of electricity for the entire country in September 2008 was 10.31 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).

Rates in New York State are almost twice the national average.

You can see a list of all 50 states and their Residential, Commercial and Industrial average retail price of electricity on the Energy Information Administration website. ( The information on this site is updated monthly. As of November 1, 2009 the data is for July 2009. ) There is a wealth of information on this site, but you have to sort through it.

The information above is from the December 2008 edition of  Electric Power Monthly which is published by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a statistical agency of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Why are electric rates so high in New York State?

According to this Facts about New York page on the EIA website:

New York produces more hydroelectric power than any other state east of the Rocky Mountains. The Robert Moses power plant on the Niagara River is one of the largest hydroelectric facilities in the world.

Although New York’s total energy consumption is among the highest in the United States, per capita energy consumption is among the lowest in the nation due in part to its mass transportation systems in the New York City area.

The average New York household consumes about one-half the electricity of the average U.S. household, largely because few use electricity as their primary energy source for home heating and because demand for air-conditioning is low during typically mild summer months.

One-half the electricity of the average U.S. household? That is an amazing statistic for New York.

So why are our rates so high?

Only Washington State (60,778), California (28,235) and Oregon (26,225) produce more hydroelectric power than New York (20,711). These are year to date numbers in Thousand Megawatt hours. The next 3 highest hydroelectric power producers are Idaho (8,061, Montana (7,672), and Arizona 5,797).

The New York Power Authority (NYPA), “America’s largest state-owned power organization”, according to their website, provides some of the lowest-cost electricity in New York State. That is a pretty vague statement considering New York’s rates are so high to begin with. I have been to the NYPA website and I can’t find their rates anywhere.

NYPA was established by New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1931 to, “give back to the people the water power which is theirs.” I think the people are still waiting for this to happen, 78 years later.

In a February 23, 2005 press release, U.S. Senator Charles. E. Schumer urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider its recent decision to reject Green Island Power Authority’s (GIPA) application to study the Cohoes Falls Project. He went on to say, “I am also very concerned about the fact that 73% of all hydroelectric power generation in New York State, including this plant, is now controlled by foreign companies.”

The hydroelectric power plant in Cohoes, NY is owned by a company based in Canada, Brookfield Renewable Power. Brookfield Renewable Power operates 75 hydroelectric generating stations on 15 rivers in New York State, according to their website.

An organization called Power in the Public Interest (PPI), in Olympia, Washington was “formed to promote state, regional and federal electricity polices that secure for consumers a reliable, affordable and durable electricity system.” Their website has a wealth of information and charts that compare electricity rates in all of the states. It also compares New York state electric rates to “regulated” states. Deregulation of electricity in New York has been a disaster for everyone except the power companies.

One article called “Electricity Price Trends in New York Compared to Trends in Price-Regulated States” uses data from the Energy Information Association up to June 2007. It claims that “for the 12 months ending June 2007,  New Yorker’s paid $22 Billion for their electricity. The same amount of electricity at the regulated states’ average rate would have cost $11.6 Billion—a difference (or comparative purchasing-power disadvantage to New Yorkers) of $10.4 Billion for a twelve month period. This is not to say that deregulation is responsible for the whole gap, or that the gap can be closed. The gap does, however, reveal the significant economic disadvantage suffered by customers in New York, and the imperative for New York to pursue the most effective form of economic regulation of electricity.”

Some of that $10.4 Billion could help close the New York State budget deficit that Governor Paterson is struggling to deal with, but it really should go to the citizens of the state who have been overcharged and abused for so many years.

I urge you to go to the PPI website and read the entire article yourself. Even though it uses data that stops at June 2007, it goes back to 1991 and clearly shows that New Yorkers pay too much for electricity. Based on current prices and rates, I’m sure there would be no difference in this article if it was updated to include September 2008 data.

Here is a link to an article titled, “Will NYPA creep away with another 50 years?” It is subtitled, “18 nauseating facts about NYPA, Niagara and you.” It is interesting reading.

I live within a few miles of three hydroelectric power plants. They are small, but they use the power of the Hudson River, Battenkill River and Fish Creek to generate electricity. Yet I still pay some of the highest electric rates in America.

Dramatically cheaper electric rates would benefit everyone in New York state.  Can anyone explain this to me? Why can’t we have the lowest rates in the country instead of the 3rd highest?

Feel free to email this post to your New York State Assemblyman or Assemblywoman and your State Senator. You can find their email address here. Under State Government, click on Assembly, New York State or Senate, New York State to find your representative.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Be sure to read High Electric Rates in New York, Part II, the next article on this blog.

If you found this post by doing a Google search and didn’t find the answer to your question, let me know what it is and I will try and find the answer for you. You can leave a comment or go to the home page and send me an email directly. Thank you. I appreciate your visit.