GOUVERNEUR – Cives Steel Company’s Northern Division plant in Gouverneur has been allocated 220 kilowatts of electric power as part of a statewide program in support of job retention and creation.

The New York Power Authority Board of Trustees approved a fifth round of ReCharge NY power allocations totaling more than 14 megawatts of low-cost power to be distributed among 19 businesses and one not-for-profit organization.

The program, created by state government in 2011, is designed to spur economic development in all corners of the state by providing low-cost power to businesses and other entities that agree to create or retain jobs.

"Low-cost power is an important economic development tool for businesses to reduce their overall costs and make new investments,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.

In addition to jobs and capital investment commitments, other evaluation criteria for ReCharge NY applications included the significance of the cost of electricity to the overall cost of doing business, applicant’s risk of closure or curtailing operations, the significance of the applicant’s facility to the local economy, and its commitment to energy efficiency.

The ReCharge NY program offers up to seven-year power contracts. Half of the power under the program—455 MW—is low-cost electricity from the Power Authority’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric power plants. The remaining 455 MW is economical power secured by NYPA from market sources.