MAYVILLE – Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards is calling on residents to throw their support behind an effort to keep the NRG power plant in Dunkirk in operation.
Edwards used his weekly Monday Morning Memo to ask residents and businesses to let state officials know how critical NRG’s repowering project is to the region. He said those interested in making their voices heard can do so by sending a letter to the State Public Service Commission (PSC) and Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Currently, the commission is considering whether or not the state should spend nearly half a billion dollars in the PowerUpWNY program, which would allow the NRG Plant in Dunkirk and another in Central New York to convert from a coal-burning plant to a natural gas burning plant.
In his memo, Edwards said the commission needs to take into consideration the economic benefits that would come with the project, including maintaining dozens of jobs in the region and millions of dollars in tax revenue.
NRG is the largest tax contributor in Chautauqua County. The coal-burning power plant was mothballed last year and officials have since been working to re-open it as a natural gas power plant.
For more information on the plan to convert the plant from coal to gas, visit: http://www.powerupwny.org.
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