Congress Puts Authorization of L.I. Cable in Energy Bill

- The battle between Connecticut and New York over the 24-mile electric cable crossing under Long Island Sound is escalating to Congress, which is set to vote soon on a broad national energy bill with one sentence granting permanent approval for the cable's operation.

That new provision, eagerly sought by New York officials and adamantly opposed by their Connecticut counterparts, was inserted into the bill during negotiations in recent days between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

"This is critically important for the energy reliability of the entire region," the chairman of the Long Island Power Authority, Richard M. Kessel, said recently. "Governor Pataki and his Washington office have been working on this for months."

Since the Northeast blackout in August this year, the utility has been getting electricity through the disputed cable virtually every day, under an emergency federal ruling that the bill would make permanent.

But the proposal drew immediate fire in Connecticut, where officials say the cable violates their sovereignty and environmental codes.

"This is an obvious attempt to circumvent our state laws, and we're fighting it," said Dean Pagani, a spokesman for Gov. John G. Rowland. The state's attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, denounced the bill, saying, "This underhanded, unconscionable measure makes a mockery of the democratic process." He urged his state's United States senators to filibuster against the bill.

The cable, running from New Haven to Shoreham, in Suffolk County, was installed in 2002 because Long Island has a rising demand for electricity but limited connections to the national grid. But because bedrock prevented crews from burying a 700-foot section of the cable deep enough to meet Connecticut's environmental standards, that state's officials blocked its use.

During the blackout, however, the federal energy secretary, Spencer Abraham, superseded Connecticut and issued a temporary authorization for the cable to operate. At the request of New York officials, he later extended that permission indefinitely. Retaliating on behalf of Connecticut, Mr. Blumenthal challenged the federal authorization in court. He also requested a rehearing before federal energy officials, which is now pending.

Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York announced recently that the proposed energy bill included a clause to make the emergency authorization permanent. "We pushed to get this in," he said.

Complicating matters, however, Mr. Schumer said that he would vote against the overall bill unless changes were made on other issues, which concern the cost of ethanol and pollution hazards from a gasoline additive, MTBE. As for the chances of passage, he said, "The environmental groups are against it, but all the special interests are for it."

The Associated Press reported that another figure in the legislative maneuvering is Alfonse D'Amato, the former Republican senator from New York, who recently registered as a lobbyist for TransEnergie US Ltd., the partner of United Capital Investments in forming Cross-Sound Cable, which installed the cable.

LIPA leases the cable for $20 million a year. The cable's 330-megawatt capacity is equal to a midsize power plant and can serve 300,000 homes.

Critics say that the cable poses a hazard to navigation and to shellfish beds in the sound. Proponents say that it is safe and will help stabilize the power system. They say the cable will not only help Long Island but also will be used occasionally for transmissions of electricity to Connecticut.