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April 26, 2010

SUPPORT FOR

S. 7573 (Aubertine/Maziarz)

The Buffalo Niagara Partnership is heartened to see the introduction of S. 7573, which improves upon earlier proposals to create a permanent economic development power program in New York, and redeploy Rural and Domestic (R+D) hydropower for economic development.

The Partnership, which represents employers of some 250,000 people in upstate New York, strongly urges support of S.7573.

Moreover, we implore the Assembly, Senate and Governor’s office to continue productive negotiation that will yield adoption of a new, comprehensive, statewide economic development power program that includes redeployment of R+D power. It is crucial that our representatives in Albany act with a sense of urgency as they face a May 15 expiration of the state’s current energy program, and use the positive momentum generated by the introduction of S. 7573, the Assembly Energy Committee’s support of A. 10053 and administration’s Energize New York proposal to create a new program that can have greater positive impact on job creation and private sector investment in New York.

The Power for Jobs program as it currently exists – as a “cash program” -- is unsustainable. New York businesses pay among the nation’s highest energy bills. Upstate, where the economy is anchored by manufacturing industries and other large energy users, the sting of those high costs is especially strong.  Other parts of the nation have used lower energy rates to entice existing Upstate companies to move, and site selectors, who might have brought new jobs and investment to our regions of the state, are similarly lured away. The state needs a permanent program.

While the Partnership has concerns with some details of all of the proposals mentioned above, we enthusiastically support their intent: to use R+D hydropower to sustain the kind of economic development power program our state needs to support its existing employer base, and attract new investment to New York.

It is critical that a new program yield the maximum economic benefit to the state and its residents. We support proposals to give ESD/DED a greater role in the power allocation process, and urge streamlining the application process for greater ease, consistency and transparency. The Partnership supports selection criteria that does more than focus on job creation and retention, but prioritizes total payroll, capital investment, significance of impact on local economy, consistency with local development plans, energy efficiency and net economic benefit to NYS (e.g. role in the supply chain). We believe contracts should be at least seven years, and implemented in a rolling renewal process.  Finally, we seek a fully developed 910 MW energy benefit program beginning with its first year of implementation, which S. 7573 and the Administration’s proposal would provide.