EXPERIENCE NIAGARA
POWER SURGE
The History of Hydro-Electricity IN NIAGARA By Martine Mackenzie The New York Power Authority has a long and proud history. As an early experiment in public power, it served as a model for federal initiatives such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration. Today, the Power Authority produces some of the cheapest electricity in North America, helping to drive New York’s economic revival while its efforts to promote efficient use of energy and to develop new, environmentally-friendly power sources continue to break new ground and to draw national 10
Inspire Niagara & Beyond
and international attention. By 1954, all approvals were in place, and Robert Moses, New York’s “Master Builder,” who had been designated by Governor Thomas E. Dewey as Power Authority chairman, was ready to go to work. In cooperation with Ontario Hydro, a construction army transformed millions of tons of concrete, stone and steel into a power-producing marvel. The Power Authority’s 800,000 kilowatt (kw) share of the facility is today known as the St. Lawrence-Franklin
