Congressman Mike Lawler on Thursday called on Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York Power Authority to disclose the value of discounted electricity being provided to data centers in Rockland County through the state’s ReCharge NY program.
Lawler’s demand followed a Journal News report that three of the four data centers operating in the Orangeburg section of Orangetown receive discounted hydropower through NYPA. According to Lawler’s office, NYPA declined to disclose how much the discounts save the companies or the rates individual facilities are paying, citing contractual and proprietary information.
“Rockland families have watched their electric bills climb year after year, and now we learn that Kathy Hochul’s Power Authority has been handing discounted power to data centers while refusing to tell the people footing the bill what it costs them,” Lawler said.
Lawler called on NYPA to release at least the total annual value of the ReCharge NY discounts and the average benefit provided to participants, arguing that those figures could give the public greater transparency without revealing confidential information about individual companies.
NYPA describes ReCharge NY as an economic-development program that provides eligible New York businesses and nonprofits access to competitively priced hydropower through long-term contracts in exchange for commitments involving jobs and capital investment. Official NYPA allocation records have listed several Orangeburg recipients, including Bloomberg L.P., DataBank Holdings and 1547 CSR-Orangeburg.
Lawler said the issue is particularly important as data centers continue to draw scrutiny over their electricity demands and their potential impact on local ratepayers. Earlier this week, he also backed federal legislation aimed at requiring large electricity users to bear costs associated with additional infrastructure they require.
