NEW YORK - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) strongly objecting to a controversial proposal by New York Regional Interconnect, Inc. (NYRI) that would guarantee the company a 13.5% annual profit on its proposed transmission line.

“NYRI’s request for an exorbitant guaranteed profit on its proposed transmission line is bad for New York consumers and bad for the environment,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “My office is closely monitoring the actions of NYRI and the federal government. We will continue to take action to protect New Yorkers from the potential damaging economic and environmental impacts from this ill-conceived project.”

NYRI’s proposed transmission line would run from Utica to Orange County, extending nearly 200 miles through 43 towns and cities in New York. FERC controls what prices NYRI would be able to charge its customers for use of the line. On February 12, 2008, NYRI petitioned FERC for a guaranteed 13.5% annual profit on the NYRI line. If the petition is granted, it would structure the prices paid by NYRI’s customers in a way to guarantee the company’s investors an annual 13.5% rate of return on their investment. Ultimately, consumers would shoulder the economic burden if FERC allows NYRI to charge its customers higher prices. On May 13, 2008, FERC asked NYRI for more information on its petition, but has taken no final action on the petition.

Attorney General Cuomo’s letter to FERC is one in a series of actions he has taken to address New Yorkers’ concerns about the NYRI proposal. In March 2008, the Attorney General filed suit against the U.S. Department of Energy in federal court challenging the designation of the NYRI line as a “National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor.” In December 2007, Cuomo submitted an amicus brief on behalf of New York and seventeen other states in support of a challenge to a FERC regulation that would allow the federal government to approve a transmission project, like NYRI, if the state disapproves the project.