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To assist ESD in carrying out its mission, the Power Authority offers a “number of successful low-cost electricity programs that help to protect and create jobs,” Gargano said. He noted that NYPA power is tied to more than 400,000 jobs statewide.

“One of New York State’s most valuable economic development tools is the economical electricity produced at NYPA’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-FDR hydroelectric projects, which plays a vital role in Western and Northern New York,” he said.

Gargano cited the NYPA-administered Power for Jobs™ program, which helps protect nearly 300,000 jobs, as another “critical resource” for job retention and creation.

“Until New York State has completed its transition to a competitive retail electricity market, there will be a continuing need for Power for Jobs or a similar program,” he said.

“New York’s energy prices are still somewhat higher than the national industry average,” Gargano added. “NYPA power is both affordable and reliable and can be an effective economic development tool to attract or retain companies that provide our citizens with well-paying jobs.”

MORE POWER FOR JOBS
When Gov. George E. Pataki introduced in 1997 a statewide economic development program tying allocations of NYPA power to commitments to add or protect jobs, the initial goal was to secure 40,000 positions.

Five years later, Power for Jobs was linked to nearly 300,000 jobs that had been created or are protected as a result of lower-cost Power Authority electricity. In July 2002, the Governor signed legislation extending the program by providing 183,000 kilowatts (kw) to customers who renew existing contracts or apply for new allocations.

By year’s end, NYPA trustees had approved reallocations for 128 companies and non-profit organizations, helping customers such as the Bank of New York in New York City, and Corning, at three upstate locations, stay competitive. Additional reallocations, along with new customers signing on with NYPA in return for job commitments, were expected in 2003.

Power for Jobs electricity is priced up to 25 percent less than other power available in New York. Recipients include large and small businesses, hospitals, colleges, cultural institutions and other not-for-profit entities, all of which pledge to create or maintain specific job totals. NYPA has determined that the more than 700 program participants have averaged about 105 percent of their total job commitments.

Power for Jobs was originally conceived as a means to help the state bridge the transition to a competitive electricity marketplace. The 2002 legislation went a step further by allowing customers to choose an energy supplier other than NYPA for their reallocations without losing favorable delivery charges offered by local utilities as part of the program.

A POWERFUL RECOVERY
The Power Authority began implementing a World Trade Center Economic Recovery Power program in 2002 to help Lower Manhattan come back from the devastating terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Eighty megawatts (mw) of low-cost NYPA electricity previously supplied to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for use at the World Trade Center were made available to businesses displaced by the destruction. Less than a year after the attacks, with New York City’s revitalization well under way, all 80 mw had been reallocated, helping keep more than 43,000 jobs in a downtown area dubbed the Liberty Zone.

Priced up to 25 percent less than standard commercial rates, World Trade Center power serves as an incentive for businesses to help rebuild the area around Ground Zero. The program is expected to save recipients—including banks, hotels, restaurants and retail establishments—about $6 million annually over the course of the allocations, which will run for a minimum of three years.

The NYPA electricity was part of a comprehensive package of state aid and benefits in the aftermath of the attacks.

Another beneficiary of low-cost NYPA power is the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority, adjacent to the World Trade Center site, which uses the electricity in its parks and other public spaces.

While the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan has only begun, allocations of Power Authority electricity are helping to soften the economic impact of 9/11.

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