NORWICH – Taxpayers won’t have to shell out a dime for the $1.6 billion New York Regional Interconnect power line, officials with the Albany-based company claim. In fact, <a href="http://www.evesun.com/topics/news/NYRI/">NYRI</a> estimates that residents along nearly 200 mile route – including the 44 the line could run through in Chenango County – would receive a total of $30 million in real property taxes annually.

“The transmission line we propose to build, at no cost to taxpayers, would deliver electrical energy that’s already being generated upstate to economically crucial areas of the state,” said project manager Bill May, “and would do so in an affordable, safe and efficient way.”

However, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is currently offering private transmission companies like NYRI project incentives that could substantially, if not totally, reimburse them on several operation and construction costs.

<a href="http://www.evesun.com/topics/news/NYRI/">NYRI</a> would have to apply for the incentives if the project is approved.

“These incentives are part a rate-making process and NYRI hasn’t engaged FERC on this,” said project manager Bill May on Friday. “It’s way too early in the process to consider rate recovery issues.”

However, at a July hearing in New Hartford prior to FERC’s announcement of the final incentives list in August, company officials told a panel of state senators that they would be asking the commission to give them insured rates to make sure their project costs are reimbursed, if it is approved.

Some of the incentives include:

• Incentive rates of return on equity for new investment by public utilities (both traditional utilities and stand-alone transmission companies, or transcos).