Dear Mr. Minck,

Please accept this letter of support for Propel NY Energy on behalf of Regional Plan Association (RPA).

Propel NY Energy (or the Project) is needed to strengthen the backbone of our electrical grid, bolstering reliability and resiliency and increasing transmission capacity to deliver clean energy to New Yorkers for years to come. This Project is vital to our state’s economy and the environment.

Propel NY Energy will provide benefits to New Yorkers statewide that include:

• Modernizing our aging electric grid and ensuring rising demand is met: NYISO’s recent System Resource Outlook report notes that NYS’s electric demand is expected to increase 50%-90% by 2042, largely due to manufacturing facilities and data centers. At the same time, around 80% of New York’s transmission infrastructure was built before the 1980s. Building new transmission infrastructure, such as the Project, is critical to meeting future demand and expected shortfalls in capacity, such as the expected shortfall in New York City’s capacity by 2033.
• Delivering reliable and cheap energy to customers: the project allows Long Island to be connected to the larger New York State grid, bringing cheap, predominantly clean (hydroelectric) power downstate with minimal congestion chargers.
• Providing a source of jobs and economic growth for Long Island and New York State: The Project is estimated to generate as much as $3.6 billion over the next 20 years for Long Island and New York, with a one-time increase of nearly $2 billion in the state’s GDP. This economic growth includes 2,000, mostly union, jobs over the four years of construction, nearly $100 million dollars from sales revenue, and $60 million in property tax revenue once the project is in service.

Additionally, the Project enhances our grid’s reliability and resiliency in the face of increased extreme weather events. The U.S. has seen significant increase in billion-dollar weather events, averaging 23 annually from 2020-2024 compared to just 7 per year from 1980-2019, even with adjusted inflation. Superstorm Sandy, one of the most significant storms to hit Long Island in a generation, left thousands of people without power for days or even weeks.

Critical grid infrastructure projects such as Propel NY Energy help prevent outages and protect New Yorkers from severe weather events that may occur in the future.

Prioritizing improvements to New York’s electrical grid are paramount to ensure the health, safety and well-being of our communities, businesses, and shared environment. As New York continues to grow, so will the demands on the transmission grid – a vital infrastructure that we all rely on. We must invest in a modern energy grid that will propel New York to a prosperous and resilient future.

It is critical that the Project receives thorough review and secures permits and approvals in a timely manner to ensure construction can begin in 2026. We are committed to working with regulators, community members and the Propel NY Energy team to ensure the Project’s success. Thank you for your efforts and consideration.