Businesses, farms get power deal

CAPE VINCENT — Gov. David A. Paterson said Tuesday that the New York Power Authority will take $10 million from the sale of energy unused by Alcoa to pay 10 percent of north country businesses' power bills for the next year.

Alcoa, an aluminum manufacturer, temporarily relinquished more than 230 megawatts of power when it idled its Massena East plant in July.

Richard Kessel, the power authority's chairman, said more than 3,500 commercial and industrial businesses in Jefferson, St. Lawrence and Franklin counties would receive discounts, including dairy farmers who are billed on a residential rate. Utility customers on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation would also receive the break, the chairman added.

"We want to turn this negative into a positive," said Mr. Paterson, who made the announcement at Wood Farms, Cape Vincent. "In the same way we've given businesses that moved into the state low cost power so that they could benefit and create jobs, we're now giving it to the dairy farmers and businesses in this region who have been here year after year and are struggling through the deep stretches of this economic downturn."

Mr. Kessel said a business owner's average yearly rate reduction would be about $1,200.

Gary Wood, a co-owner of the dairy farm where Mr. Paterson made his announcement, said the program will save him about $3,720 on power costs. Joseph F. Chavoustie, who owns Aubrey's Inn, said he hopes he's eligible to save about $8,400 on powering his three downtown businesses.

"I'm very happy to see it," he said. "I'm ecstatic."

Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, D-Theresa, said the program "couldn't have come at a better time."

"Our energy bills are crippling up here and everyone knows it," she said.

Marcy L. Reed, National Grid's senior vice president for public affairs, said she'd "love to see our customers take the benefit and reinvest it in energy efficiency improvements" so that they could perpetuate their savings beyond one year.

Mr. Paterson said he hoped the program would be a prelude "to more job creation and more economic development right here in the north country."

Mr. Wood said his farm's power savings "is going to pay the bills."

"We're getting $13 per hundred (weight for milk) and it costs $17.50 per hundred to make it," he said.

Thomas C.C. Congdon, state deputy secretary for energy, said businesses billed under commercial rates would be automatically enrolled in the program and will start seeing savings as soon as Sunday. The power authority, he said, sent letters Tuesday to dairy farmers who are billed at a residential rate asking them to apply. Mr. Congdon said applications would be turned around within a month of their receipt.

The energy secretary said dairy farmers will be the only type of farmer offered the discount. He also said the break may come as a rebate check to customers instead of a discount on the energy bill.

Following a farm tour, Mr. Paterson visited about 40 small business owners at the Antique Boat Museum, Clayton.

"I was trying to persuade them that right now New York state has got to balance its budget — and it has to balance it by means other than taxes and fees, means other than trying to refinance or use special pools or credits or devices that are designed to push the debt back when we don't even know when our revenues are going to stop declining," the governor said.

Mr. Paterson said he asked the business owners "to spread the word" and get accurate information out about his plan to reduce the state's $3 billion deficit this year.

"The school year cuts are not being reported accurately," he said. "There will be no layoffs of teachers or denial of services to students. You couldn't institute school taxes until next May, which is after the next budget period. Hopefully we'll clear that problem up by then. This is what we have to do to get through now. So to say this will automatically make school taxes go up, that's not true. They haven't had to cut anything. They have reserve funds that cover it. And those reserve funds don't get monitored by Moody's and Fitch. Ours do."