Our Company 
Rochester Area Reliability Project (RARP) fact sheet

ROCHESTER AREA RELIABILITY PROJECT

  • A $250 million investment in local communities.
  • The RG&E service area has safe and reliable electricity delivery now, but continuing growth is putting pressure on our
    transmission system, the backbone of our electricity delivery system.
  • The region needs access to an additional source of electricity supply to be sure that safe and reliable electricity delivery will continue.


WHY NOW?

  • By 2016, the existing RG&E transmission system will be at its power capacity limit.
  • The Rochester Area Reliability Project’s new transmission lines and substation will increase that capacity as well as the reliability of the system. The project will also help reduce the scope, frequency and duration of major outages, and it will help lessen the effects if one of the region’s other power sources becomes unavailable.


LOCAL INVESTMENT AND JOBS

  • The $250 million project would be one of the largest investments in the region’s history and create up to 70 new jobs during the 18 to 24 months of construction.
  • This investment will increase the value of RG&E properties and increase the amount of local property taxes that RG&E pays, therefore benefiting the communities in which the project will be constructed.


ELECTRICITY DELIVERY RATES

  • RG&E will finance this project as it unfolds. Ultimately, all ratepayers in RG&E’s nine-county service area, including industrial and commercial businesses, will share these costs as determined by the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC).
  • The project should have no major impact on electricity rates.
  • The cost of infrastructure maintenance and investments in safety and reliability have always been built into rates. This project is a continuation of that model.


PROJECT DESIGN

  • The preferred routes of the Rochester Area Reliability Project transmission lines – in existing utility rights of way and
    transportation corridors – were chosen because they offer the least community disruption and the least effect on properties.
  • Most of the transmission lines will be above ground. Some portions of the new transmission lines, such as those near the airport, will be underground. Transmission lines will also be underground in some portions of the City of Rochester and the towns of Gates and Chili.


PUBLIC INPUT AND REGULATORY OVERSIGHT

  • RG&E’s public meetings in the communities along the Rochester Area Reliability Project’s preferred routes are the first of multiple opportunities for public input and participation.
  • The PSC’s Article VII process governs the project. Article VII is a section of Public Service Law that provides the mechanism
    for review and siting of transmission lines. It prescribes the content of an application for such facilities, including a description of the project’s location, alternative locations, expected economic effects and environmental studies. This regulatory frame work also affords all stakeholders, especially the general public, an opportunity to review the project and offer input before construction begins.


FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE ARTICLE VII PROCESS


PROJECT MAP

  • Click here to view our map.


WANT MORE INFORMATION?

  • Call the RARP Infoline: 1.800.647.9899

 

 

  • Click here to download a PDF copy of this factsheet.