New York Transco LLC
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New York Transco LLC ROCK TAVERN TO SUGARLOAF APPENDIX A Pre-Filed Testimony New York Transco LLC Appendix A: Pre-Filed Testimony Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf Article VII Application This page intentionally left blank New York Transco LLC Appendix A: Pre-Filed Testimony Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf Article VII Application New York Transco LLC Application of New York Transco LLC for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need Pursuant to Article VII of the New York Public Service Law to Construct, Operate, and Maintain a New, Single-Circuit 12-Mile 115 Kilovolt Electric Transmission Line and Related Facilities in the Towns of New Windsor, Hamptonburgh, Blooming Grove, and Chester in Orange County Direct Testimony of Victor Mullin October 5, 2020 Submitted to: New York State Public Service Commission Case 20-T-____ Submitted by: Harris Beach PLLC BEFORE THE NEW YORK STATE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION __________________________________________ APPLICATION OF NEW YORK TRANSCO LLC FOR A CERTIFICATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY AND PUBLIC NEED PURSUANT TO ARTICLE VII OF THE NEW YORK PUBLIC SERVICE LAW TO CONSTRUCT, OPERATE, AND MAINTAIN A NEW, SINGLE-CIRCUIT 12-MILE 115 KILOVOLT ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINE AND RELATED FACILTIES IN THE TOWNS OF Case: 20-T-______ NEW WINDSDOR, HAMPTONBURGH, BLOOMING GROVE, AND CHESTER IN ORANGE COUNTY __________________________________________ DIRECT TESTIMONY OF VICTOR MULLIN ON BEHALF OF NEW YORK TRANSCO LLC Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 Q. Please state your full name. 2 A. My name is Victor E. Mullin. 3 Q. What is your role at New York Transco LLC (“Transco”)? 4 A. I am the President of Transco. 5 Q. What are your responsibilities at Transco? 6 A. As President, I oversee Transco’s staff and other executives in the organization 7 and its various budgets. In addition, I work with Transco’s board members to 8 plan and implement short-, mid-, and long-term strategies for the company, to 9 assess the direction of the company, and ensure the company is operating 10 consistent with its stated mission and strategic plans. I also encourage business 11 investment, act as a visionary, and provide overall leadership at Transco. Finally, 12 I am the public “face” of Transco when dealing with State and local 13 governments, and the local community. 14 Q. Please summarize your education and professional background. 15 A. Before accepting my permanent position at Transco on April 1, 2020, I was 16 employed by Consolidated Edison Company of NY (“Con Edison”) for 17 approximately 37 years. In 1982, I was employed by Con Edison as an Engineer 18 and subsequently held various engineering and management positions in Central 19 Engineering, Nuclear Power, Substations, and Gas Operations. In April 2005, I 20 was assigned to Con Edison Gas Operations as the Chief Gas Transmission 1 of 19 Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 Engineer. In December 2008, I was assigned as the Chief Civil/Mechanical 2 Engineer in Central Engineering. In April 2017, I was assigned to Con Edison 3 Transmission as the Chief Engineer. In December 2018, I was appointed 4 President of Transco and continued to be employed by Con Edison until April 1, 5 2020, when I officially became an employee of Transco. 6 I received a Bachelor’s of Nuclear Science Degree from SUNY Maritime 7 College in 1978. I also received a Master of Management Science from Pace 8 University in 1994 and completed the Public Utility Executive Program in July 9 1995 at the University of Michigan. 10 Q. Have you ever testified before the New York State Public Service 11 Commission (the “Commission”) or any other regulatory commission? 12 A. Yes. 13 Q. Please provide an example of a Commission proceeding in which you 14 previously testified (oral testimony or written testimony). 15 A. I testified orally in Con Edison’s 2013 electric and steam rate cases (Cases 13-E- 16 0030 and 13-S-0032). In addition, I submitted written direct testimony in 17 Transco’s Article VII proceeding involving the New York Energy Solution 18 project (the “NYES Project”) (Case 19-T-0684). 19 Introduction 20 Q. What is the purpose of your testimony in this proceeding? 2 of 19 Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 A. The purpose of my testimony is to support Transco’s application pursuant to New 2 York Public Service Law (“PSL”) Article VII (the “Application”) for a Certificate 3 of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (“CECPN”) to construct, 4 operate, and maintain the Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf project (the “Project” or the 5 “RTS Project”). To that end, my testimony: (1) provides background on Transco 6 and its corporate structure; (2) explains, at a high-level, Transco’s participation 7 in the Commission’s alternating current (“AC”) transmission proceeding (the 8 “Commission’s AC Transmission Proceeding”) (Case 12-T-0502) and the 9 resulting Public Policy Transmission Planning Process (the “NYISO PPTPP”) 10 conducted by the New York State Independent System Operator, Inc. (the 11 “NYISO”), that resulted in the NYISO Board of Directors (the “NYISO Board”) 12 selecting the NYES Project as the more cost-effective or efficient solution to 13 satisfy the Commission-declared Public Policy Transmission Need (“PPTN”) for 14 new AC transmission facilities in the UPNY/SENY electric interface, and 15 requiring the developer of the NYES Project (i.e., Transco) to construct certain 16 upgrades that will be achieved by the RTS Project; and (3) provides an overview 17 of Transco’s construction plan, team, and RTS Project schedule. 18 Q. Mr. Mullin, are you sponsoring or co-sponsoring any exhibits in support of 19 the Application? 3 of 19 Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 A. Yes. I am the sole sponsor of Exhibit 1 (General Information Regarding 2 Application), and I am the co-sponsor of Exhibits 3 (Alternatives), 6 (Economic 3 Impacts), and E-4 (Engineering Justification). 4 Q. Were these exhibits prepared by you or at your direction and under your 5 supervision? 6 A. Yes. 7 Q. Please provide a high-level overview of the RTS Project. 8 A. The Project includes the replacement of an existing, 12-mile overhead 115 kV 9 electric transmission line (the “SL Line”), with a new 115 kV electric 10 transmission line, which will be known as the Rock Tavern to Sugarloaf Line (the 11 “RTS Line”). The RTS Line will begin at the existing 115 kV Rock Tavern 12 Substation owned by Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation (“Central 13 Hudson”), located in the Town of New Windsor, Orange County (the “115 kV 14 Rock Tavern Substation”) and terminate at Central Hudson’s existing 115 kV 15 Sugarloaf Switching Station, located in the Town of Chester, Orange County (the 16 “115 kV Sugarloaf Switching Station”). As part of the Project, the 115 kV 17 Sugarloaf Switching Station will be rebuilt as a substation (the “Rebuilt Sugarloaf 18 Substation”) to accept the RTS Line. A new 138 kV tie line (Line 30) will exit 19 the Rebuilt Sugarloaf Substation and terminate at the existing 138 kV Sugarloaf 20 Switching Station owned by Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc. (“O&R”) and 4 of 19 Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 located in the Town of Chester, Orange County (the “138 kV Sugarloaf Switching 2 Station”). In addition to replacing the SL Line, the existing structures from the 3 115 kV Rock Tavern Substation to the 115 kV Sugarloaf Switching Station will 4 be replaced. To accommodate the Rebuilt Sugarloaf Substation, the first structure 5 outside that station (Structure 1241)—which supports Central Hudson’s existing 6 115 kV SD and SJ Lines—will be replaced (collectively, the above constitutes 7 the RTS Project). The RTS Project will be located entirely within an existing 8 utility-owned ROW and existing utility-owned land (together, the “Project 9 ROW”). When constructed, the Project will be located entirely within Orange 10 County in the Towns of New Windsor, Hamptonburgh, Blooming Grove, and 11 Chester. 12 Transco 13 Q. Please describe Transco’s corporate structure. 14 A. Transco is a limited liability company. Transco’s members, Con Edison 15 Transmission, LLC; Grid NY LLC; Avangrid Networks New York TransCo, 16 LLC; and Central Hudson Electric Transmission, are affiliates of investor-owned 17 utilities (“IOU”) in New York State. Transco has a four member Board of 18 Directors and four officers, including myself. 19 Q. Does Transco currently own any other operational electric transmission 20 facilities in New York State? 5 of 19 Direct Testimony (Victor Mullin) 1 A. Yes. In June 2016, following necessary Commission approvals, Transco 2 energized three new projects, which are known as Ramapo to Rock Tavern, 3 Frasers-Coopers Corner, and Staten Island Unbottling. These transmission 4 upgrades not only contribute to system reliability, they also significantly reduce 5 upstate to downstate transmission congestion, which saves money for electricity 6 consumers. As a result of Transco’s ownership of these transmission facilities, 7 Transco is already a lightly-regulated electric corporation under the PSL.1 8 Q. Does Transco have any other pending proceedings at the Commission 9 currently? 10 A. Yes. As mentioned earlier, Transco has another pending Article VII application 11 (Case 19-T-0684) where it seeks a CECPN to construct, operate, and maintain the 12 NYES Project. 13 Overview of Transco’s Involvement in the Commission’s 14 AC Transmission Proceeding and the NYISO PPTPP, and the 15 NYISO Board’s Selection of the NYES Project 16 Q. Please describe the Commission’s AC Transmission Proceeding. 17 A. In November 2012, following the release of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s 2012 18 Energy Highway Blueprint, which called for, among other things, the 19 development of over 1,000 MW of new AC transmission upgrades to move power 1 See Case 15-E-0743, Petition of New York Transco LLC for an Order Providing for Lightened Regulation, Order Providing for Lightened Rate Making Regulation and Approving Financing (Issued April 21, 2016).