BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — The town of Potsdam will now purchase the electricity for its municipal buildings from Northern Power and Light Inc of Saranac Lake.

Town board members voted at their meeting March 12 to authorize Town Supervisor Marty Miller to enter into a two-year contract with the company.

“We work with small hydro facilities throughout the region to secure power for local businesses and residents, typically at the same prices as National Grid, but we have a municipal discount program,” Emmett Smith, Northern Power and Light’s CEO, told the board at the meeting.  

Smith said one of Northern’s facility partners, located just downstream from the village of Potsdam, is Sissonville Hydro, which is owned by Glens Falls-based Boralex Hydro Operations, Inc.

“We would be very proud to serve the town of Potsdam with local, renewable energy,” Smith told board members.

The company also maintains its own facility at Azure Mountain Power (AMP) in St Regis Falls; and partners with The Schroon River Dam and Powerhouse located in Warrensburg.

The municipalities of Glens Falls and Saranac Lake are also contracting with the Northern Power and Light to receive service through the companies community hydro partnerships.

According to a press release issued by the company, Northern will be working with the Potsdam Climate Smart Communities Task Force on an information campaign to spread the word about community distributed power generation and offering hydropower as an electricity option.

“We’re working with communities throughout the North Country to combat climate change and educate residents on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency,” said Smith in the press release. “The Town will benefit from NP&L’s Municipal discount, in addition to earning grant money from the state for the Community Campaign.”

To learn more about Northern Power and Light, or to sign up to receive electrical service through their partnerships visit www.npandl.com or call (518) 293-4075.