By JIMMY LAWTON

LOUISVILLE -- The St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency hopes to establish a third contract with the New York Power Authority that could bring even more economic development funding to the North Country.

The River Agency hopes to develop a contract allowing the sale of unallocated portions of its recently acquired 20 megawatts of power on the open market to generate money for economic development.

The idea isn't new, but had taken a back seat for the past two years as the agency worked to establish a contract that would allow the New York Power Authority to legally grant the low cost power to the agency for economic development.

Despite years of setbacks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo recently signed a contract allowing just that.

Now, River Agency Chairman Robert McNeil says the board's first priority is to market that power to businesses and bolster the local economy. But a second priority is gaining state approval to sell unallocated portions on the open market which could replenish its economic development fund.

The River Agency has been using a $16 million pool of NYPA funding over the past two years to stimulate the North Country's struggling economy by issuing grants and loans to businesses and communities throughout St. Lawrence County.

The sale of power could potentially generate millions of dollars that could replenish that funding as the agency works to allocate the hydropower to businesses.

As it stands, money generated by the 20 megawatts stays with the power authority.

McNeil said the sale of unallocated power, or "monetization," as was something the agency has sought since the beginning, but such a contract would require legislation.

"We will continue pursuing it, but as I understand it we need state legislation to monetize the power," he said.

McNeil said the agency has already discussed this issue with local representatives like Sen. Patricia A. Ritchie and Joseph Griffo who have been supportive of the idea, but he expects things to move past the discussion phase now that the 20 megawatt contract has been finalized.