NEWS

UTICA—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced Wednesday that its recreational boat-launching ramp at the Hinckley Dam and Reservoir will be open for the season May 1. Directional and warning buoys by the power dam spillway have already been installed.

Located along the north side of the reservoir on Route 365, NYPA built the boat launch in 1985 as a recreational measure in connection with the construction of its Gregory B. Jarvis Plant, a hydropower facility.

Open daily during the boating season, the launch consists of concrete planks extending 200 feet into the reservoir to permit easy access for boaters. The launch will remain open so long as reservoir conditions remain safe for boating.

The Jarvis plant, which features two turbine-generators, began operating in 1986 and is named in honor of an astronaut from the Mohawk Valley who was killed that year aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

■The New York Power Authority uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. ■NYPA is a leader in promoting energy efficiency, new energy technologies and electric transportation initiatives.■It is the nation's largest state public power organization, with 17 generating facilities in various parts of New York State and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. ■Approximately 80 percent of the electricity it produces is clean renewable hydropower. Its lower-cost power production and electricity purchases support hundreds of thousands of jobs throughout the state.■For more information, www.nypa.gov