Recharge New York Will Benefit Central, Northern New York

Expands Eligibility, Provides Long Term Stability To Job Creators
 
State Senator Patty Ritchie says the “Recharge New York” she cosponsored in the Senate will help employers across Oswego, Jefferson and St. Lawrence County reduce their electricity costs to help them put more people to work.

“I am very pleased to see the program I supported as a member of the Energy Committee and voted for on the floor of the Senate was included in the final budget and signed by the governor,” Senator Ritchie said. “This program is a dramatic improvement over the old Power for Jobs program that failed to offer any long term continuity to businesses that wanted to invest in our communities. Over and over again, businesses told me that electricity costs are too high and they need to know what their future costs will be before they’ll invest in modernizing and expanding their operations.”

Recharge New York provides seven year contracts to businesses that agree to expand or retain their work force. The program reserves 350 megawatts for upstate businesses and institutions, 100 megawatts for not for profits and 200 megawatts to attract new business or help existing businesses to expand.

The former Power for Jobs provided low cost power to 500 employers that provided jobs to nearly 300,000 people across the state. The new program also expands elibility rules so more farms cabn benefit.

“It’s long past time that New York State recognizes that our farms and our agriculture industry is vital to revitalizing the upstate economy,” she said. “As the Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, helping the Legislature to recognize the importance of incorporating agriculture into this business program was critically important to me and to family farms across the state.”