Article VII Electric Transmission Permitting Process

Propel NY Energy is subject to Article VII of the New York State Public Service Law, which governs the siting of major utility transmission facilities in the state. The law requires a full review of the need for a project and the environmental impacts of its siting, design, construction, and operation, and establishes the forum in which community residents can participate with members of state and local agencies in that review. 

The following is an overview of the Article VII process:

  1. An application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (Certificate) is submitted to the Public Service Commission.

    Submitted on July 31, 2024, Case No. 24-T-0446. Access the docket directly.

  2. Once the application is deemed complete, a Public Statement Hearing(s) is scheduled to solicit feedback on the record, and a Procedural Conference is held to determine the procedural path of the application. Note that the PSC will accept comments at any time while the docket is open.

  3. A Certificate is issued via a PSC Order, which will contain conditions on how the project will be built.

  4. An Environmental Management and Construction Plan (EM&CP) document is developed, detailing how the project will be built. The plan is filed with the PSC and will be subject to comment.

  5. Once the EM&CP is approved by the PSC, public notifications will be required and a Notice to Proceed will need to be issued before construction may begin.

  6. During construction, the project will be monitored by regulators until restoration is complete. Post-construction monitoring may also be required.

Article VII - Process Guide (click to view).

Project Article VII Summary Guide (click to view).

How to Stay Informed on the Article VII Process

Feel free to contact the Propel NY Energy team at any point with questions or to receive more information.

Interested parties who wish to monitor the proceedings of a particular case without the formal commitment of becoming a party to the proceeding can subscribe to the “Service List” for the case. Subscribers to a case will receive e-mail notification when a filing and/or issuance (eg., order, notice and ruling) is entered into the case. Persons who are unable or do not wish to receive electronic notification will receive hard copies of Commission-issued documents by mail. Interested parties may subscribe to a Service List by clicking HERE and then clicking the “Subscribe to Service List” button in the top right header of the webpage.

View the Service List to see where copies (print or electronic thumb drive) of the Article VII application are available for public review.

Article VII specifies that the applicant and certain state and municipal agencies are statutory parties in any case. Department staff participate in Article VII cases as a party. The Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Agriculture & Markets normally participate actively in the proceedings. Any municipality through which a portion of the proposed facility would pass, or any resident of such municipality, may also become a party to the proceeding. This can be done by sending written notice to the Secretary within 30 days of public notice of an application filing, or if such deadline has passed, by filing a petition to intervene.

Obtaining party status enables a person or group to contribute to the development of a complete record by conducting discovery, submitting testimony, briefs, and other formal written comment, and participating in evidentiary hearings, procedural conferences and other formal events conducted in the case. Being a party also entails the responsibility to send all other parties in the case copies of all materials filed in the case by such party.

Interested individuals or groups may apply for party status by selecting the appropriate case from the list of current Article VII cases found at dps.ny.gov/article-vii-major-electric-and-gas-transmission-facilities, clicking on case number link and then selecting the “Request for Party Status” button in the upper right corner of the page. Once a request has been submitted, the requester will be provisionally added to the party list, subject to the right of other parties to object and subject to the final determination of the Administrative Law Judge. The requester will be required to mail the party status request to anyone on the party list who cannot receive email service.

Those persons that do not wish to register on-line can obtain a “Request for Party Status” form by calling the Commission at (518) 474-4520 or writing to the Administrative Law Judge at NYS Public Service Commission, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223-1350. All requests should include the number assigned to the Article VII case.