A lot can change in 20 years.

Since the Cayuga County Public Service Utility Agency was formed in 1984, technological advances have transformed the landscape of energy options.

What was largely an agency focused on facilitating access to less expensive energy through the use of hydropower is now an organization interested in all kinds of alternative power sources, said Frank Howe, senior economic development planner in the county's planning department and staff liaison to the agency.

The county is seeking to amend the law that first established the agency in order to give it the authority to pursue these new energy types, including anaerobic digesters and geothermal opportunities.

A public referendum will appear on the ballot Tuesday asking residents to support the amendment. A simple majority vote ensures its passage, Howe said.

“This gives us the legal opportunities to be more broad-based in the services we provide to the county,” Howe said. “There are so many new technologies that can be used for certain alternative forms of energy.”

Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall, who is also chairman of the agency, believes that the referendum would allow the agency to work on projects that could lower utility costs, for electricity and possibly natural gas, in the future.

Marshall talked of the agency's important role with the proposed methane digester on County House Road, which will provide energy for various county buildings.

That, in addition to publicizing the November referendum, has been the group's primary focus over the past few months, Howe said.

The agency spent around $3,000 on handouts and advertisements to educate the general public about the amendment, Howe said. He knows of no one opposed to the referendum; rather, the concern is that people will vote it down - or not vote either way - if they don't know what it is.

If the referendum did not pass, it could potentially stymie the agency's work, he said.

That work is important because alternative energy projects like the regional digester help keep industry in Cayuga County and can attract new businesses, Howe said. The referendum would also allow the agency to begin interacting with existing energy providers, he added.

Auburn Mayor Timothy Lattimore echoed Howe's statements.

“We'll have more options to deal with energy,” said Lattimore, who spoke in favor of the amendment at the Oct. 25 county Legislature meeting. “I can go out and market that we have fresh water and that we have lower energy rates.”

Auburn has recently pursued its own forms of alternative energy, with its geothermal heating and landfill incinerator projects. Voters in Auburn last year approved the creation of a municipal power agency.

“This amendment really puts the city's energy efforts and our potential efforts in harmony,” Howe said. Marshall hopes for more cooperation between the city and county on energy matters and talked of the need for the two to complement one another.

The local pursuit of alternative energy has received national attention, Lattimore said.

“It's (high energy cost) the biggest problem with doing business in the state of New York, and there's a solution,” continued Lattimore, who said that New York state has power rates 38 percent higher than any other surrounding state. “We're not just whistling Dixie here. We can do this.”

Ballot wording

Voters will see the following question when they enter the polls Tuesday:

“Proposal Number Three, Amendment Number One Should Local Law #2 for the year 1984 be amended to permit the County of Cayuga Public Utility Service Agency to own, acquire, use and operate gas utility service and/or alternative energy service?”

For more information, call 253-1276.

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net