Cheap Power

Niagara Falls is being exploited for energy, and we're not reaping the benefits locally. Donn Esmonde comments on the fact that the NYS Power Authority's license to sell Niagara power is up for renewal. It's time to change the deal so that it benefits us, and not some jackasses in Albany or elsewhere.

"We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make our natural resource work for us. The New York State Power Authority's 50-year license to sell power generated from the Falls expires soon. It wants a relicensing deal. It's a chance to claim what we deserve - more cheap power from our own resource. 'We need something dramatic to help us,' said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. 'This is our best opportunity to revive the economy of Western New York.' The roadblocks to economic rebirth are high taxes and utility costs. It's why we can't keep or lure businesses. Businesses mean jobs. Jobs mean our kids don't leave and departed friends can come back. Heavy industry here already gets cheap power from the falls. So do some cities and towns. They want to keep what they have when a new 50-year deal is cut in 2007, and they should. But we deserve more. Florida used its warm climate to build a tourist industry. We should use the cheap power from the falls to rebuild our economy. Instead, the authority pads its profits by auctioning power that should stay here to users across the Northeast. 'The authority is exploiting our resource for their economic benefit,' said Higgins, 'while undermining our vitality.' "

You know, say what you want about Brian Higgins, but he's in Washington and he's really looking out for Buffalo on honest-to-goodness, day-to-day, bread-and-butter issues. Where the f*ck is Tom Reynolds, and how has he helped his constituency, lately?