The battle over which entity gets to provide electric power to the Frankfort 5S South Business Park, the village of Frankfort or National Grid, continues to move forward in Albany.
Lawyers cross examined witnesses on Wednesday and Thursday, and the case before the state Public Service Commission moved closer to a judge’s ruling to either grant or deny the village’s request to expand its municipal electric service to the business park, according to Anne Dalton, PSC spokesperson.
Dalton declined to provide a timetable for a decision, saying it will be made during a regularly scheduled PSC meeting. This case, however, doesn’t have any statutory requirement dictating how long a decision is withheld, such as in cases involving rate disputes that must wait 11 months, she added.
Local officials, meanwhile, anxiously await the decision, as it has far-reaching implications for a project that has already received millions of dollars in county and state funds.
More than $5 million, of which the county paid $2.6 million, has been invested into making the park enticing to potential business tenants. The funds extended roads, water and sewer service and paid for all permits and studies needed to develop the site.
Now the project needs electric service to begin seriously courting businesses.
But so much has been invested in the project that, regardless of the PSC decision, county officials have already said they can’t afford to extend electric power without financial assistance.
See the whole story in Saturday's edition of The Evening Telegram.
