direct testimony of the capital expenditures, reliability, and - nyseg

Case 09-E-____; Case 09-G-____ (NYSEG)DIRECT TESTIMONY OF THE CAPITAL EXPENDITURES,RELIABILITY, AND OPERATIONS PANEL123456789101112131415161718192021severe weather related outages due to high winds far exceeded the 2000-2007yearly average numbers of days with severe weather due to high winds reportedacross New York State as calculated by the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA). Inflationary effects have increased the cost of labor,vehicles, and materials over time. Finally, as NYSEG continuously improves itsstorm restoration efforts in response to the Commission's requirements, there is acorresponding increase in costs.Q. Can you describe more fully the recommendations by Staff and the impact ofthose recommendations on storm costs?A. The Company continues to implement Staff recommendations to improve stormresponse. These recommendations have included increased priority and staffingfor downed wires, more formalized damage assessment, and more proactiveacquisition and deployment of additional crews. These initiatives should, overtime, improve the quality of storm response. They will also contribute to theincreased cost of storm response.Rural Electric CooperativesQ. What steps did NYSEG take in cooperation with the Cooperatives to address theMerger Conditions as set forth in Appendix 2, Item 3 of the Abbreviated MergerOrders (as affirmed in the Long Merger Order) in Case 07-M-0906?A. On October 7, 2008, NYSEG established a task force to investigate the ruralcooperative issues (the "Task Force").63