Hague officials say CHPE underperforming, warn conversion to host agreement could hit school taxes

Council member informed the board that the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) — the undersea/underground cable bringing power to New York City — has recently begun commercial operation but is reportedly performing far below its design expectations. "The CHPE project was commercially operational about 90 days ago in New York City," the council member said, and reported a "capacity factor of 5.1% versus a design specification of 95%." The speaker added: "as of today, over 239,000,000 in lost revenue." The council member argued that if CHPE seeks relief from contractual obligations, local payments that support town and school programs could be reduced.

The council member urged continued opposition to converting the existing pilot agreement into a host agreement, saying that under a host agreement "town and school tax jurisdictions will have little recourse to take possession and sell the property and be able to make its required payments to both the town of Ticonderoga and the school board." The town has submitted letters (dated Aug. 7) to Ticonderoga officials and the Ticonderoga Central School District requesting timely notice and participation in financial proceedings and urging that any tax advantages provided to developers be minimized. Separately, the town described strong local opposition to a proposed $100 million battery energy storage project in Ticonderoga and said Hague expects to be included in any financial or IDA proceedings affecting taxpayers.