MASSENA – (RealEstateRama) — The Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Board met for the first time today as it seeks to boost the St. Lawrence County economy by providing funding to businesses and other enterprises using money from New York Power Authority electricity sales.
The Northern New York Power Proceeds Act, which Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed into law in December 2014, authorizes NYPA to deposit the net earnings from the sale of a block of unallocated electricity from the Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project. The fund has already accrued nearly $2 million.
“This inaugural meeting marks the start of something big in the region,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA president and CEO. “The blueprint for economic success in St. Lawrence County is now that much more defined.”
The board established the administrative protocol to begin soliciting and reviewing funding applications from businesses and not-for-profit organizations in St. Lawrence County. It is expected to begin making recommendations as early as April to the NYPA Board of Trustees, which would approve any funding. Eligibility criteria and application instructions are at the proceeds board’s website at www.nypa.gov/NNYPPAB/.
Judge Eugene L. Nicandri, a NYPA trustee and Massena resident, said, “The Northern New York Power Proceeds board will only enhance the value of the St. Lawrence-FDR power project. We’re utilizing NYPA hydropower in multiple ways to bring jobs to the region.”
The proceeds board will rely on similar criteria for determining funding recipients as those for NYPA’s hydropower allocations to Northern New York businesses. They include jobs, capital investments and the long-term commitments of applicants to the region.
Patrick J. Kelly, board chairman and CEO of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, said, “This first meeting has laid the groundwork for many impactful future project recommendations. My colleagues on the allocation board and I are excited to be part of a process that has so much potential to bring positive economic activity to this area.”
The Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Act is similar to legislation created in 2012 for the use of unutilized hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project for economic development in Western New York.
The power proceeds board is comprised of the following members, appointed by Governor Cuomo: chairman Patrick Kelly, CEO of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, in Canton; Robert McNeil, partner in McNeil Accounting Services, in Lisbon; Theresa Phalon, president and CEO of North Country Savings Bank, in Canton; and Roger Sharlow, principal of RJS Consulting, in Waddington. It is expected that a fifth board member will be appointed at a later date.
Following the establishment of the proceeds board, NYPA last year unveiled the recommendations of the St. Lawrence County Economic Development study, which—if fully implemented—could create as many as 1,900 new jobs and up to $190 million in new economic activity by 2020 in St. Lawrence County. A summary of the study is at https://www.nypa.gov/STLCountyReport1221.pdf
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. For more information visit http://www.nypa.gov/ and follow us on Twitter @NYPAenergy, Facebook, Instagram, WordPress, and LinkedIn.
Contact:
Paul DeMichele | Paul.DeMichele (at) nypa (dot) gov | (914) 681-8186
