Executive Speeches

Remarks of Louis P. Ciminelli, chairman of the New York Power Authority, at the Upstate Purchasing Exchange, Buffalo, New York

October 1, 2003

Thank you, and welcome everyone to this very important event. 

We’re delighted that Senator Byron Brown was able to join us—and we appreciate all his help.  Likewise, I would like to thank Senator Dale Volker and Assembly Majority Leader Paul Tokasz for the assistance they provided to this effort.

It’s great to see such a fine turnout. We expect representatives from nearly 100 minority- and women-owned businesses to join us by the end of the afternoon.  And—as potential customers for them—we have people from a wide range of private companies, educational institutions and state, county and local governments.  I’m proud that one of those companies is my own.

We’re confident, based on lots of experience, that the personal contacts made here today will lead to further discussions and to productive business relationships.

Today is all about opportunity—the opportunity to open doors and to pave the way for future success.  And I think that’s what makes this event so special for me—as a longtime resident of Buffalo and Western New York, as a businessman in the area and as the chairman of the Power Authority.

For my family and me, Western New York has represented opportunity, both professional and personal—a chance to work hard, to become part of the community, to make our lives here.

And for Western New York, the Power Authority has for more than 40 years been a major source of economic opportunity—chiefly in the form of the more than 43,000 jobs in this part of the state that depend on low-cost hydroelectric power from our Niagara project.

These jobs, and nearly 20,000 more linked to electricity we bring in from other parts of the state, help to bolster the area’s economy.  They create more business opportunities for all—including minority- and women-owned firms.

At the Niagara Project itself, we’re investing more than $290 million in a program to upgrade and modernize the 13 turbine-generators at the Robert Moses Niagara Power Plant—the project’s main generating facility.  This program—which is on track for completion in 2006—has provided opportunities for a number of minority- and women-owned firms.

We’ve also invested more than $25 million in completed energy-efficiency projects at schools and other public facilities in Erie and Niagara counties.

Besides cleaning the air and saving money on electricity bills, these programs have enabled us to use the talents and services of minority- and women-owned companies.  And we intend to keep doing that as we implement new energy-efficiency projects.

Those are some of the possibilities here in Western New York.  But, as many of you know, the Power Authority operates in various parts of the state—and we need the services of qualified firms wherever they’re located.  So please explore the statewide possibilities in your discussions with our people today and in the future.

By working to make our supplier base as diverse as possible, we believe we’re acting in the best interests not only of the suppliers, but of the Power Authority and our electricity customers.  That’s because a large and varied group of potential vendors gives us the best chance to obtain the highest quality goods and services at the best price.

Beyond that, we’re strengthening the overall economy by helping well-run companies—with ambitious and resourceful owners—to grow and thrive.

We want to give these companies a chance to show what they can do.  That’s all they ask.  But that chance can mean everything.

A great New Yorker—Theodore Roosevelt—said many years ago that “This country will not be a really good place for any of us to live in if it is not a really good place for all of us to live in.”

That call for fairness—and opportunity—says much about what we hope to accomplish here today.

Thanks for being with us.  And my best wishes to all for a productive and enjoyable afternoon.

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