Xylem gets low-cost power from state through ReCharge NY

Xylem Inc., a global water technology company headquartered  in Rye Brook, has been allocated 116 kilowatts of low-cost power through the state’s ReCharge NY program.

New York Power Authority trustees recently approved a ninth round of allocations in the program created by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2011 to spur capital investments and new jobs statewide.  A total of 11.8 megawatts of low-cost power will be distributed among 26 business operations and three nonprofit organizations making an estimated $270 million in capital investments. State officials said nearly 3,100 jobs, including more than than 300 new jobs, are supported by this ReCharge NY round.

Xylem last year relocated its headquarters operations from White Plains to 1 International Drive in the Reckson Executive Park in Rye Brook following its spinoff in October 2011 from ITT Corp. Federal regulators required the water systems technology and equipment provider to physically separate its operations from ITT headquarters at 1133 Westchester Ave. in White Plains.

The company planned to invest $11.6 million in its new 67,145-square-foot facility, keeping 106 jobs in Westchester and pledging to add 15 positions here by 2016. Empire State Development, the state’s chief economic development agency, last year approved a $1 million capital grant for Xylem and $1.35 million in state tax credits through the Excelsior Jobs Program to support the company’s intracounty move.

In the last two years, ReCharge NY has provided approximately 737 megawatts to more than 600 business operations and 71 nonprofits, according to state officials. One megawatt of electricity can adequately supply 800 to 1,000 homes with typical power consumption.

Administered by the New York Power Authority, the ReCharge NY program offers power contracts of up to seven years. Half of the power, 455 megawatts, is from the Power Authority’s Niagara and St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt hydroelectric plants. The rest is economical power secured by NYPA from wholesale market sources.