NEW YORK: Power for Jobs Helps Create Over 270 New Jobs—Thirteen businesses and not-for-profit organizations across New York State have pledged to create 272 new jobs in return for allocations of low-cost electricity under Gov. George E. Pataki's Power for Jobs™ program. At a March 20 meeting here, Power Authority trustees approved the new allocations as well as reallocations for 10 customers whose contracts were expiring. The actions will help protect or create over 4,900 jobs. The businesses receiving new allocations are the AT&T Corp., Manhattan; Clay Park Labs, the Bronx; Diamond Ice Cube Co., the Bronx; B.H. Aircraft Co., Ronkonkoma; Dayton T. Brown, Inc., Bohemia; Crowley Foods, LLC, Lafargeville; Fedco Automotive Components Co., Buffalo; Sabin Metal Corp., Scottsville; Sonoco Flexible Packaging, Fulton; and the Ontario Knife Co., Franklinville. Three not-for-profits—Albany Institute of History and Art; Ellis Hospital, Schenectady; and Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown—were also among the first-time recipients. Overall, the NYPA-administered Power for Jobs program is linked to about 300,000 jobs at more than 700 businesses and non-profit enterprises.

BROOKLYN: NYPA Donates Electric Bus to Williamsburg School—Rabbi Arthur Meisels, president and CEO of the United Talmudical Academy; Rep. Edolphus "Ed" Towns and NYPA President Eugene Zeltmann were on hand at a March 24 ceremony marking the Power Authority's donation of an electric school bus to the academy. Standing in front of the gleaming new yellow bus, Towns said the clean, quiet bus "produces absolutely no emissions and will make a difference in local air quality." The congressman worked with NYPA to help ensure that the new vehicle was put to use in Brooklyn. NYPA donated the bus as part of its emissions-offset program to improve air quality in parts of New York City where the Authority installed small, natural gas-fueled power plants.

UTICA: NYPA Provides Surplus Computers to City Schools—The Power Authority delivered 10 computers each to the JFK Middle School and the Hughes Elementary School here as part of its program to make refurbished computers available to schools statewide. NYPA utilizes about 1,700 computers in its normal operations and replaces about 400 to 500 each year. The surplus equipment has been thoroughly cleaned and tested, and a new operating system and a minimum of 64 megabytes of memory have been installed. Any missing or broken parts have been replaced. NYPA began the program in 2002 and has, so far, distributed computers to schools in Niagara Falls, the Bronx and Queens, in areas near Authority facilities.

NIAGARA FALLS: NYPA Draws Off River Water to Aid Rescue— Fast action by NYPA's Niagara Power Project employees—and NYPA technicians some 200 miles away, in Central New York—may have contributed to the rescue of a reportedly despondent man poised at the brink of the American Falls on March 19. The Niagara River Control Center, which monitors river conditions, notified NYPA's Energy Control Center (ECC) in Marcy, near Utica, that a man was in knee-deep rushing water at the falls' edge. (The ECC regulates generation at all NYPA power plants.) The Niagara project was asked to immediately shut down all generators at its Lewiston Pump-Generating Plant, start them as pumps and activate all available units at the project's larger Robert Moses Power Plant. The intent was to pull more water through the project's intakes, upstream from the falls, lowering the water level close to the falls and reducing flows. The quick response brought down the water level by 20 feet in the project's forebay and 10 inches at the falls. The man was saved in a harrowing helicopter rescue, and the project returned to normal operation an hour later.

STATEN ISLAND: Conference Set on Economic Development—The Power Authority will co-sponsor the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation's (SIEDC) annual conference, the borough's most comprehensive business-to-business educational and networking event, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event, which is expected to draw more than 1,500 attendees, will feature discussions on the borough's economic future by state, city and county leaders, plus displays from the Power Authority and more than 75 businesses that have a presence on Staten Island. The SIEDC is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to promoting public and private investment, developing industrial and commercial property, and providing broad and diverse employment opportunities in the borough.

WHITE PLAINS: Report Spotlights 'Cleaner, Stronger New York'— The Power Authority's 2002 Annual Report, now available, focuses on NYPA's efforts to advance the benefits of renewable energy and energy efficiency, keys to its strategies for creating a "cleaner and stronger New York." NYPA's investment in these areas, the report explains, will help "loosen the grip of fossil fuels, improve air quality and usher in a new age of energy security." The report describes Power Authority programs involving fuel cells, the generation of electricity from waste gases at landfills and wastewater treatment plants, and energy-efficiency projects at public facilities, including New York Police Department station houses and Buffalo city schools. It also provides updates on the Authority's low-cost power allocations, which help protect more than 400,000 jobs at businesses and non-profit organizations statewide, and a 500-megawatt combined-cycle power plant under construction in Queens. Each of the report's four sections includes comments by an industry expert. To obtain a copy of the report, call (914) 390-8177, or send an e-mail to kirby.l@nypa.gov .

LEWISTON: Security Concerns Prompt Closing of Visitors Center— The Power Authority has closed the Power Vista, the admission-free visitors center at the Niagara Power Project, as part of increased security at the project in the wake of military action in Iraq. Educational programs on electricity normally provided for school children at the Power Vista will be available in school classrooms. Arrangements for classroom visits can be made by calling (716) 286-6661.

In the Community: A public information meeting on the relicensing of the Niagara Power Project was held at the Niagara Falls High School Amphitheater, April 2....An exhibit on the Blenheim-Gilboa Power Project was on view at the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce Family Expo, Cross Gates Mall, March 29 - 30….NYPA co-sponsored and participated in the judging of student science projects at the 65th annual Richmond County Science Fair, Michael J. Petrides Educational Complex, Staten Island, March 29….Carol Simpson, senior community relations representative, gave presentations on the Basics of Electricity to the Morristown Central School, April 3; St. James Elementary School, Gouverneur, March 28; Heuvelton Elementary School, March 26; and Canton Elementary School, March 25….Steve Ramsey, senior community relations representative, spoke to members of SKAAL International, a tourism organization, on the Blenheim-Gilboa project, Colonie, March 26….Carol Rodino, community relations manager, presented awards to the Albany River Rats, an American Hockey League team, at their annual banquet, Albany, March 25….The Power Authority received a first-place award in the industrial-exhibit category at the Greater Niagara Community Expo, Lockport. The display presented the Power Authority's statewide and regional activities in line with the Expo's theme, Grow with the New Niagara, March 20-21.