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The region's largest private employer has some serious concerns with a proposed contract between Rochester Gas and Electric and the struggling Ginna nuclear power plant. Under the proposal, RG&E would temporarily prop up Ginna — with RG&E's customers paying the bill.

In a May 1 letter to the Public Service Commission — a state regulatory agency — University of Rochester President Joel Seligman wrote that school officials are concerned about "both the significant fiscal impact the proposed agreement will have on the University of Rochester and the Finger Lakes region, as well as the pace of which this proposed agreement is being considered."

Seligman says that UR and the University of Rochester Medical Center are large consumers of electricity, and that they face an estimated 20 percent rate increase under the proposed agreement, which could cost the institutions in total an estimated $3 million a year.


Seligman doesn't ask the PSC to scuttle the contract, but to soften the deal's financial impact on RG&E customers. Seligman's letter to the PSC is embedded below.

The PSC ordered RG&E to negotiate with Ginna, after agreeing that the plant is necessary to ensure a reliable supply of electricity in the region. The agency is holding public hearings on the proposal at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. today at the Town of Webster Parks and Recreation Building, 1350 Chiyoda Drive; and tomorrow in Rochester City Council chambers at City Hall, 30 Church Street. Comments can also be e-mailed to [email protected].

Seligman UR