CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

HAMILTON, N.Y. (AP) _ Upstate New York residents are getting a chance to voice their opinions about a controversial $2.1 billion high-voltage power line project that would cut through seven counties.

The state Public Service Commission is holding the first of 13 public hearings on New York Regional Interconnect's proposed transmission line on Monday at Colgate University in Madison County.

There will be two sessions at Colgate, one in the afternoon and a second in the evening. Each will be preceded by an information forum.


NYRI wants to run a 190-mile transmission line from near Utica to Orange County. Supporters say the line is needed to improve the state's aging power grid and reduce the threat of blackouts like the one that struck the Northeast in 2003.