Letter to Lake Residents from Northeast Generation

Posted: November 11, 2005 in General

In early November, Northeast Utilities (NU) announced it will be exiting the competitive energy business to focus solely on its regulated utility operations. A divestiture and sale process is now under way for the hydroelectric power plants operated by Northeast Generation Services (and owned by Northeast Generation Company). While the exact timing is not known yet, NU expects the sale process to be completed by the end of 2006. What does this mean for NGS’ Shoreline Management Plan and your participation going forward? Because the Plan is a requirement of the 40-year license granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the Housatonic River Project (FERC #2576, effective June 2004), our process for developing the Shoreline Management Plan will continue on schedule. The license is integral to the operation of the power plants and must be transferred to the new owner. FERC has established a deadline of December 23, 2005 by which we must submit our final SMP plan. We recently requested an extension from FERC and are now awaiting their decision. Our project website – at http://www.essexpartnership/HRP.com – continues to be active with new suggestions and comments coming in from the general public. Also online now for your access, as requested, are examples of Shoreline Management Plans used by other hydro projects. These documents plus additional information will be available in the “News and Updates” section of our website. We look forward to the next round of Stakeholder Workshops being scheduled for early December. Progress continues to be made in several areas, including the development of draft policies and proposals (for discussion at the workshops), work on the GIS system, website enhancements as mentioned above as well as the new email notification system. Additionally, the next round of public meetings is tentatively planned for early January 2006. The exact schedule and locations will be posted on our website once they are finalized. Questions? Please contact Bob Gates (NGS) or Bruce DiGennaro (Essex Partnership).