Lawmakers Seek To Block Power Line

WASHINGTON — A handful of upstate lawmakers said yesterday they would soon offer legislation seeking to block a controversial power transmission line that would run from the Utica area to the lower Hudson Valley.

Central New Yorkers have been fighting the proposed 200-mile, high voltage transmission line proposed by Albany-based New York Regional Interconnect Inc.

The company says a new line is needed to handle the growing demand for power in New York City and its surrounding suburbs and contend project would save consumers $500 million a year.

Yesterday, Rep. Maurice Hinchey, a Democrat of Hurley, Rep. Michael Arcuri, a Democrat of Utica, and Rep. John Hall, a Democrat of Dover Plains, said they would sponsor three bills seeking to stop the NYRI project from going forward.

Specifically, the lawmakers want to strip out a provision of the 2005 energy bill passed by Congress that allows the federal government to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors.