The last visible possibility of New York Regional Interconnect's power line coming to the Mohawk Valley has been quelled.

Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order denying NYRI's appeal challenging the New York Independent Systems Operators' ratepayer subsidy provisions. Those provisions require the approval, as indicated by weighted voting, of at least 80 percent of entities on the receiving end of a proposed transmission project in order for developers to recoup costs from ratepayers.

ConEdison expressed reservations about the NYRI project and would be one of the largest entities on its receiving end. Accordingly, the NYRI cited the NYISO provisions in April when it withdrew its power line application before the state Public Service Commission.

Mike Steiger of the Upstate New York Citizens Alliance said the FERC order "shuts the door to NYRI ... trying to do anything like this in the future," according to The Observer-Dispatch.