The Daily OrangePlant asks for state regulation
By Justin Murphy
Posted: 9/17/09, 2:32 AM EST Section: News
The company that produces steam for Syracuse University, Project Orange, plans to ask the state to regulate the school's resale of that steam to its public customers, further escalating hostilities between the two parties.
Adam Victor, president of Project Orange Associates, said Monday that his company is preparing to ask the New York State Public Service Commission to oversee the rate at which SU resells steam to Upstate Medical University, Crouse Hospital, Syracuse VA Medical Center and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
"We've uncovered these unconscionable overcharges," Victor said. "Project Orange has an interest that the steam it produces and sells is properly used and paid for."
The university dismissed the latest charges from Project Orange as "unfounded."
"This threatened complaint ... is merely one more effort by Project Orange to distract from and avoid its contractual obligations to the university," SU spokesman Kevin Morrow said in an e-mail.
Project Orange has a contract with SU to operate its Taylor Street steam plants and provide the university with steam at a discounted price. But in the last year, the partnership has been strained by accusations and litigation from both sides.
In November 2008, Project Orange sued SU for $50 million, accusing it of improperly reporting its steam production costs in the original 1990 agreement and cheating its resale customers. This summer, Project Orange asked the state to condemn the property on which the university's steam facilities stand through eminent domain law.
The university denied any wrongdoing. It contended that Project Orange is acting only in its private interest, and, in a countersuit, asked a judge to affirm its right to exit the contract, which expires in 2032.
Project Orange sells steam to SU for a fixed rate of $4.27 per thousand pounds. The university then resells some of that steam to ESF and the hospitals. SU said it does not make a profit but does add distribution costs - which in June 2009 meant an additional $5.08 per thousand pounds.
Adam Victor, president of Project Orange Associates, said Monday that his company is preparing to ask the New York State Public Service Commission to oversee the rate at which SU resells steam to Upstate Medical University, Crouse Hospital, Syracuse VA Medical Center and State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
"We've uncovered these unconscionable overcharges," Victor said. "Project Orange has an interest that the steam it produces and sells is properly used and paid for."
The university dismissed the latest charges from Project Orange as "unfounded."
"This threatened complaint ... is merely one more effort by Project Orange to distract from and avoid its contractual obligations to the university," SU spokesman Kevin Morrow said in an e-mail.
Project Orange has a contract with SU to operate its Taylor Street steam plants and provide the university with steam at a discounted price. But in the last year, the partnership has been strained by accusations and litigation from both sides.
In November 2008, Project Orange sued SU for $50 million, accusing it of improperly reporting its steam production costs in the original 1990 agreement and cheating its resale customers. This summer, Project Orange asked the state to condemn the property on which the university's steam facilities stand through eminent domain law.
The university denied any wrongdoing. It contended that Project Orange is acting only in its private interest, and, in a countersuit, asked a judge to affirm its right to exit the contract, which expires in 2032.
Project Orange sells steam to SU for a fixed rate of $4.27 per thousand pounds. The university then resells some of that steam to ESF and the hospitals. SU said it does not make a profit but does add distribution costs - which in June 2009 meant an additional $5.08 per thousand pounds.
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