Low Cost Power Program will Help to Create and Retain Thousands of Jobs across New York
An additional 161 businesses and not-for-profit organizations across the state have been awarded more than 80 megawatts (MW) of low cost power in the second round of allocations under the ReCharge New York program. This round of RNY allocations is expected to generate substantial private capital investments and retain approximately 25,000 jobs.
For Long Island, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees this week approved allocations that total almost 7 MW of power to 24 enterprises, and are linked to almost 7,000 jobs and significant capital investments in the region.
Senator Jack Martins said, "The Recharge New York program is in line with our initiatives of making New York State more business friendly and stimulating our economy by generating private capital investments and retaining and creating jobs. I am pleased that there is a significant allocation coming to businesses in the Seventh Senate District. We want to keep our businesses and jobs right here on Long Island. I want to thank Governor Cuomo and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on economic development and exploring initiatives to move our state's economy forward on its road to recovery."
"Through the NY Works program, we now have a cohesive strategy to leverage resources such as available, low-cost power, allowing businesses to create jobs and make investments in all regions of the state. These power allocations through the ReCharge New York program will provide competitive and reliable energy prices to manufacturers and other key employers, giving them the confidence to invest in their facilities and maintain and increase employment," Governor Cuomo said. "We will continue our aggressive efforts to capitalize on our low-cost power and other economic incentives to attract new businesses to New York and encourage expansion and growth in our state’s existing enterprises."
The allocations approved this week by the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Board of Trustees bring the total support provided by Recharge New York to 602 businesses and 76 not-for-profits. Those enterprises are expected to commit to retain nearly 385,000 jobs and undertake billions of dollars in capital investments from the approximately 680 MW that have been allocated under the ReCharge New York program to date. The low-cost power tied to the ReCharge New York program will start to be made available to customers on July 1. A complete list of the second round of power allocations is available here: http://www.governor.ny.gov/assets/documents/round2allocations.pdf [5]
Kevin Law, President of the Long Island Association and co-chair of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council, said, "We thank Governor Cuomo for helping so many businesses on Long Island with this initial allocation of low cost power from NYPA that will help retain and create thousands of jobs in our region and provide seven years of predictable energy costs for the Long Island businesses participating in the Re-Charge NY program."
Stuart Rabinowitz, President of Hofstra University and LIREDC Co-Chair, said, "Recharge is a game-changer for Long Island's economy, helping us create more jobs for our workers while lowering energy costs for our businesses. The Regional Council process demonstrated that Long Island' highly skilled and educated workforce provides a great foundation for business investment and growth. Now, these Recharge NY allocations will build on that, helping businesses invest with confidence in our region and in New York State, reinforcing that we are in fact Open for Business."
The latest allocations were recommended this week by the New York State Economic Development Power Allocation Board (EDPAB), a four-member body empowered under state law to make power recommendations to the NYPA trustees.
The ReCharge New York program, which will draw upon 910 MW of low-cost energy, offers up to seven-year contracts, including at least 350 MW for upstate businesses, 200 MW for business attraction and expansion projects, and up to 100 MW for not-for-profits and small businesses.
In total, NYPA received over 1,000 applications for ReCharge New York power under the"New York Open for Business" initiative through the on-line Consolidated Funding Application, requesting over 2,100 MW—more than twice the total amount available under the statutorily provided power program.
In evaluating the applications on a competitive basis, NYPA, in consultation with Regional Economic Development Councils across the state, used criteria based on capital investment commitments, job retention and creation, consistency with regional economic development council priorities, and other factors, including energy efficiency.
Also under the Recharge New York statute, NYPA is authorized to provide a transitional electric discount to any applicants that were not recommended to receive allocations, but which had been receiving benefits under NYPA’s expiring Power for Jobs (PFJ) and Energy Cost Savings Benefit (ECSB) programs—the predecessor programs to ReCharge New York. Specifically, the statute authorizes NYPA to provide those customers up to 66 percent of their PFJ or ECSB energy savings during the initial two years of the RNY program and 33 percent for the two years thereafter. The NYPA trustees approved transitional discount savings for 95 applicants, valued at energy savings of up to $9 million for just the first year alone.
For a list of allocations made under the Recharge New York program from the first two rounds of power allotments, visit http://www.nypa.gov/RechargeNY/default.htm [6].
