N. Y. Power Authority Expects First Allocations Under Recharge New York in April

Power Deliveries on Track for July 1 for Governor’s New Statewide Power Program

Contact :
Michael Saltzman
(914) 390-8181
michael.saltzman@nypa.gov


March 26, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


WHITE PLAINS—The New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced Monday that it is continuing the competitive review of more than 1,000 applications from businesses and not-for-profit organizations for the ReCharge New York (RNY) Program, a lower-cost power initiative signed into law last year by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for retaining and creating jobs throughout New York State from a mix of NYPA hydropower and economical market power sources.

Due to the large number of applications and the extensive information being evaluated on such matters as applicants’ power needs and plans for capital investments for protecting or creating jobs, the first power allocations from the 910-megawatt (MW) program are likely to be made at the regular meeting of the NYPA Board of Trustees on April 24, instead of its March 27 meeting. This will not affect the July 1 statutory implementation date when RNY power will begin to flow to initial customers under long-term contracts of up to seven years.   

Under the ReCharge New York legislation, the New York State Economic Development Power Allocation Board—a four-member board established in 1987—will recommend the RNY allocations to the NYPA trustees on the basis of various criteria.  In addition to jobs and capital investments, they include the extent to which an allocation would be consistent with existing regional economic development strategies, applicant’s risk of closure or curtailing operations, the significance of the applicant’s facility to the local economy, and its commitment to maximize energy efficiency. 

“NYPA staff has been thoroughly engaged for months in reviewing a vast amount of data and other information from applications submitted by prospective ReCharge New York customers,” said James F. Pasquale, NYPA senior vice president, Marketing and Economic Development.  “We’ve made great progress in the competitive review of the applications for ReCharge New York and are looking forward to the first recommendations and allocations in April, as we work to maximize the economic development benefits in the state.” 

ReCharge New York will replace two other statewide programs—the Power for Jobs and Energy Cost Savings Benefit—that expire on June 30.  The economic development benefits of those programs, which NYPA has also administered, have been limited by the short terms of their state legislative extensions and the lack of statutory provision for adding new customers.  The long-term contracts to be provided under RNY will provide businesses with electricity-rate stability for investing in their facilities, which is especially important for energy-intensive enterprises such as manufacturers and to their ability to add new jobs. 

Unlike its predecessor programs, RNY allows for new allocations from the assigned pool of power, including a block of 455 MW of low-cost hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt projects that is being made available for eligible employers for the first time.

About NYPA
NYPA is the nation's largest state public power organization, through the operation of its 16 generating facilities and more than 1,400 circuit-miles of transmission lines. NYPA uses no tax money or state credit. It finances its operations through the sale of bonds and revenues earned in large part through sales of electricity. More than 70 percent of the electricity NYPA produces is clean renewable hydropower. Follow @NYPAenergy on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, YouTube, and LinkedIn.