Lower Cost NYPA Power to Help Protect 315 Jobs at Long Island Firm
Contact Michael Saltzman (914) 390-8181 michael.saltzman@nypa.gov
July 24, 2001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WHITE PLAINS—An allocation of lower cost power to the Nassau County Public Utility Agency (NCPUA) will help a Long Island plastic packaging company maintain 315 jobs at its Westbury plant, reducing its electric utility bills by approximately $85,000 a year.
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) trustees on Tuesday approved the 600-kilowatt (kw) allocation, which the NCPUA will resell to Uniflex, Inc, a polyethylene manufacturer that produces plastic packaging for various industries.
"Allocations of power like the one for Uniflex reflect New York State’s efforts under Governor Pataki to develop a working partnership with local governments and businesses to create and protect jobs in all corners of the state," said Joseph J. Seymour, NYPA chairman and chief executive officer. "The overall effect has been a far more stable job picture, with economic power combining with lower taxes, streamlined government regulations and other innovative measures to strengthen the state’s work force."
The allocation for Uniflex comes from a block of 94,460 kw of power reserved for downstate municipal distribution agencies (MDA) like the NCPUA for resale to industrial customers. Of that amount, 5,000 kw are reserved for Nassau County.
Approval of the latest allocation means that Nassau County’s share of power for downstate MDAs is fully allocated. It also raises the number of jobs in the county that are linked to this power to more than 1,800.
The NCPUA resells NYPA power to six other firms and organizations in the county: Citibank, Plainview; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories; Oceanside Institutional Services; Ruco Polymer, Hicksville; Fortunoff, Uniondale; and Administrators for the Professions, Manhasset.
As with its other industrial customers, the Nassau County utility agency designated Uniflex to receive the lower cost power, subject to NYPA’s approval. Electricity costs have represented about 10 percent of the Westbury plant’s cost of production, exceeding the percentage borne by an out-of-state facility that the company operates, along with what competitors overseas experience.
In addition to MDA power, Long Island also benefits from a block of lower cost power from Governor Pataki’s hugely successful Power for JobsTM program, administered by NYPA. In Nassau County, the program is linked to more than 17,000 jobs, and nearly 18,000 in Suffolk County.
The James A. FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant, near Oswego, sold late last year by NYPA to the Entergy Corp., provides the lower cost electricity that the Authority allocates to the MDAs and Power for Jobs recipients. Additional Power for Jobs electricity is purchased through a competitive bidding process administered by NYPA.
