Parry Teasdale in The Columbia Paper reports that an Interim Report released from the state Public Service Commission July 15 eliminates 14 of 22 proposals for new or upgraded high voltage electricity transmission lines through the Hudson Valley. But several of the eight remaining projects run through parts of Columbia County. One group still remaining includes, "all the electric utilities that serve Columbia County," according to The Columbia Paper. But the Interim Report says that even though these proposals might be the “most environmentally compatible of the proposed projects… [they] may still represent significant impacts that will warrant mitigation.” Governor Andrew Cuomo called for an “Energy Highway” plan to upgrade and expand the state’s electrical power grid in his 2014 State of the State address, and since then, local opposition to the proposals has grown, with a regional organization called the Hudson Valley Smart Energy Coalition including local historic sites, environmental groups, and municipalities calling the added transmission lines unneccessary. The PSC is now preparing a final report, expected sometime in September. "A final decision on what route or routes the power lines will take or whether any new lines are needed may come from the commission possibly as soon as the end of this year," according to The Columbia Paper.