Higgins to host 'power forum'

Business owners by the hundreds have been invited to attend a Saturday "Business Power Forum" to be hosted by Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo.

The session, scheduled for Medaille College, will begin at 10:30 a.m.

The freshman congressman has planned the forum to allow business owners and industry leaders the chance to address electric rates and the upcoming relicensing of the Niagara Power Project in Lewiston, operated by the New York Power Authority.

According to a statement from Higgins office, "Despite our proximity to this magnificent force, Western New York's businesses pay energy rates 50 to 60 percent higher than the national average."

Some 500 business officials have been invited to the forum as well as the general public.