Town and village of Waddington, N.Y., seek statistics on electricity usage

WADDINGTON, NEW YORK - The town and village want to gauge residential and business power use while waiting on a grant that would fund a feasibility study for municipal power.

The two governments this month submitted a joint application for a grant worth up to $100,000 from the state Department of State's Shared Municipal Services Incentive Award program.

A campaign to collect National Grid bills and establish usage information is under way, though chances of receiving state funding for a feasibility study are uncertain.

"It's all wait-and-see right now," former Alliance for Municipal Power Waddington representative Gary W. Wahl said. "We can't assume anything."

The competitive field for the grant includes several larger municipalities and the Alliance for Municipal Power, which represents 18 towns and villages in St. Lawrence and Franklin counties with a goal of creating a public utility.

The town and village left the alliance in 2003, but that departure wasn't a reflection of waning interest, Mr. Wahl said. The grant opportunity has revived interest among officials.

Mr. Wahl is asking National Grid customers to send the first two pages of their monthly bill to Waddington Public Power, P.O. Box 616, Waddington, N.Y. 13694. Those who wish to remain anonymous can remove their names from the bills, he noted.

"We're supposedly at a 2 megawatt load here, but we need to have a more accurate figure," Mr. Wahl said.

The information would be a key statistic in proceeding, should a feasibility study prove municipal power benefits, namely lower rates.

"There's a lot to it, and a feasibility study is the bottom line," Mr. Wahl said.

Grant recipients of the $2.55 million the state allotted for the program are expected to be announced later this year.