Farmers still await power rebates

North Russell farmer Rick L. Moore has watched his mailbox for months for a promised check from the New York Power Authority for its North Country Power Discount Program.

"We've been waiting and waiting," Mr. Moore said.

Last year, Gov. David A. Paterson and NYPA Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Kessel announced the program, which targeted businesses, industries and dairy farms, offering power customers in St. Lawrence, Jefferson and Franklin counties a break on their bills of about 10 percent using an estimated $10 million from the sale of power Alcoa temporarily relinquished when the Massena East plant was idled.

Dairy farms that pay commercial rates are receiving a credit on their bills, but farms that are billed at a residential rate were to receive rebates instead.

"The checks are expected to be mailed in the next couple of weeks," NYPA spokeswoman Connie M. Cullen said.

Of the 400 dairy farms in the program, 90 percent pay the residential rate. NYPA estimated that a third of those farms will receive payments of more than $600, which means the money is considered taxable income.

As such, NYPA will send affected farmers and the Internal Revenue Service a 1099 form, which lists a record of the income. To send out the 1099 forms, NYPA has requested each farmer fill out a W-9 form, certifying his tax identification number.

"We're still receiving them," Ms. Cullen said. "We wanted a consistent program so we could send everything out at once."

The farmers will receive three checks this year and one in 2011, she said.

Mr. Moore said he expects his own savings to be about $40 per month.

"It's not much, but it adds up," he said. "It's a little bit of money, but everything helps."

Farmers are hurting financially because the price of milk is on a downward slope, Mr. Moore said.

From a price of about $16 per hundredweight in midwinter, the price dropped to about $14 per hundredweight in March.

"It didn't stay up long," he said. "It's a bad situation."