WASHINGTON NEEDS A STIMULUS BILL TO PAY THE COSTS OF UTILITY COMPANIES PLACING WIRES UNDERGROUND
Release Date: March 19, 2010
I am writing this letter to President Obama, Senators Schumer & Gillibrand, Congresswoman Lowey, Congressman Engel, Hall asking THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO APPROVE A NEW STIMULUS BILL THAT WOULD PAY THE COSTS OF UTILITY COMPANIES PLACING WIRES UNDERGROUND. THIS WOULD DO THE FOLLOWING---CREATE LONG TERM JOBS AND HELP REDUCE UNEMPLOYMENT…HELP THE UNITED STATES FEEL LIKE A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY EVERY TIME THERE IS A POWER OUTAGE…HELP THE ECONOMY LONG TERM SINCE WE WON’T HAVE TO WORRY AS MUCH ABOUT OUTAGES.
What do you think? Power in Greenburgh went out on Saturday. There are still people out of power –and some people will be out tomorrow (Friday).
PAUL FEINER
This is the letter I sent…
The recent power outage left over 160,000 people in the Con Ed service territory out of power for days. Many residents of Greenburgh were out of power from Saturday (the day of the storm) to Thursday or Friday. Businesses were impacted, schools were closed, the Greenburgh library was closed for a new days, roads were not open, wires were down causing dangerous conditions and lives in Greenburgh and in the region were lost.
I would like to urge the federal government to consider a new stimulus bill – that would fund power lines being placed underground. A reason for the significant outages was because so many trees came down. If the power lines are placed underground, falling trees would not result in outages to a significant number of people. Our region would not feel like a 3rd world country after a storm.
My suggestion would result in long term job creation. It is also a proactive action that will reduce the possibility of future long term power outages. These outages have a negative impact on local economies.
A few years ago, after the last storm, I suggested that Con Ed place wires underground. Unfortunately, the suggestion went nowhere. It would be very costly to retrofit the power lines underground. However, if the federal government paid for the costs of this – you would be creating jobs, solving short term and long term problems.
Sincerely,
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor