SCHUMER: WITH SOUTHERN TIER & MOHAWK VALLEY RURAL ELECTRIC CO-OPS POISED TO BENEFIT THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, SCHUMER LAUNCHES MAJOR PUSH FOR FEDS TO INVEST $1.4+ MILLION IN NEW DELAWARE COUNTY LINE-WORKER TRAINING PROGRAM – HELPING LOWER ENERGY COSTS FOR FARMS AND FAMILIES, AND GIVING 200+ LOCAL WORKERS SKILLS NEEDED FOR GOOD-PAYING JOBS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN TIER AND UPSTATE NY
Delaware County Electric Cooperative Provides Electricity To Thousands Of Rural Families & Small Businesses, And Now Schumer Wants To Help Them And Other Rural Electric Co-Ops In The Southern Tier & Mohawk Valley Expand Efforts To Provide Affordable Utilities To Underserved Communities
Schumer Secured Major Fed $$$ In The Inflation Reduction Act That Rural Electric Co-Ops Like Delaware County, Otsego, Steuben, And Oneida-Madison Can Potentially Tap; Senator Reveals New Push To Expand Training To Hundreds Of Good Paying Jobs Maintaining And Modernizing Infrastructure In The Southern Tier And In Delaware County
Schumer: Delaware County Is Ready For Fed Investment To Help Boost Good Paying Jobs, Lower Costs, And Bring Affordable Electricity To Rural Communities Across Upstate NY
After leading the Inflation Reduction Act to passage with major investment to help boost rural electric co-ops like those in the Southern Tier and across Upstate NY, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer today launched a new push to secure over $1.4 million from the Department of Labor’s Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) initiative for the Delaware County Electric Cooperative’s (DCEC) new line-worker training program, which would train at least 200 hundred workers for good-paying, union jobs right here in the Southern Tier.
“Rural electric co-ops across Upstate NY have long helped fill the gaps and provide affordable electricity to our farms and families in rural communities like here in Delaware County, the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley. That is why I fought so hard to secure historic investment in the Inflation Reduction Act, including ‘direct-pay’ provisions so our non-profit rural electric co-ops can finally access the clean energy tax credits that have transformed investor owned utilities, helping create good paying jobs, all while lowering utility costs for our rural families,” said Senator Schumer. “Now is the time to supercharge the tremendous work of these co-ops like Delaware County’s, which is why I am pushing for the Department of Labor to invest over $1.4 million to develop the DCEC’s line-worker training program, to ensure the good paying jobs from these investments to modernizing our electric infrastructure goes to local workers here in Delaware County and the Southern Tier.”
“Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC) has submitted a grant request to the U.S. Department of Labor’s WORC Initiative to help us prepare for a better energy future. If federal funding is awarded, it will set the groundwork to enable us to provide the necessary training for workers that our community needs to ensure a reliable and resilient power grid as New York leads the nation in reaching a more sustainable energy future. We are very appreciative of Senator Schumer’s efforts to secure funding for programs that help us give workers access to good-paying, high-quality jobs that provide a core necessity to modern life: reliable and sustainable electricity,” said John Gasstrom, CEO/General Manager of the Delaware County Electric Cooperative.
“SUNY Delhi plays an important role educating leaders for the workforce of tomorrow. This partnership with DCEC enhances our capacity to deliver education, training, and the continuing education needs of New York’s utility and electrical operations workforce. As demands on New York’s electrical grid and infrastructure grow—it will be SUNY Delhi graduates that lead the way to see that these demands are met. SUNY Delhi is grateful to Senator Schumer for his leadership in advancing workforce development efforts that will support the region’s economic growth,” said Dr. Mary Bonderoff, Acting President of SUNY Delhi.
Schumer explained that the Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC) is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving more than 4,800 member-owners in the rural counties of Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, and Chenango in Upstate New York. An electric cooperative is a not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric power provider. Rural electric cooperatives were created to address service gaps in rural communities after it became evident that investor-owned utilities were unlikely to extend electrification to rural areas. There are approximately 900 rural electric co-ops in the U.S., with several rural electric cooperatives in New York including Delaware, Oneida-Madison, Ostego and Steuben.
DCEC’s proposed program that Schumer is pushing funding for, officially titled “Building a Skilled Workforce to Construct and Maintain Core Critical Electric and Broadband Infrastructure,” would provide structured training needed to maintain core critical infrastructure in rural communities to electric and telecommunications industry line-workers. The program would establish a line-worker apprenticeship program, offer training to both new and existing line-workers, and support outreach events in collaboration with workforce development organizations to showcase jobs opportunities. The proposal will help to address workforce needs in both the electric and telecommunications industries, building on other efforts in the region intended to help meet current and future workforce demands, such as the two-year electrical construction and utility operations degree program administered by SUNY Delhi.
Schumer delivered historic funding for rural electric co-ops in the Inflation Reduction Act, and the senator said now is the time to double down on these investment with workforce training to maximize their effectiveness in creating good paying local jobs and lower utility costs for rural families.
“Senator Schumer has delivered significant federal investment for the Southern Tier, including millions to deploy high-speed broadband to unserved households in rural communities. Now, we need to invest in innovative workforce development solutions, like that proposed by DCEC, that will prepare workers for high-quality jobs in New York’s Appalachian communities upgrading our electrical and telecommunications infrastructure. Southern Tier 8 is proud to support efforts like this project that improve workforce readiness and employment outcomes,” said Jen Gregory, Executive Director of the Southern Tier 8 Regional Board.
“Thanks to the hard work of Senator Schumer, rural electric cooperatives now have direct access to federal resources, including new programs and direct-pay provisions made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, needed to compete with for-profit industry counterparts. These investments will help rural electric cooperatives reduce costs and expand services to power communities across the Southern Tier and Upstate New York. Otsego Electric Cooperative looks forward to taking advantage of these opportunities in support of our mission to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable electric service to our rural service area,” said Tim Johnson, CEO of Otsego Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Schumer explained that included in the Inflation Reduction Act were nearly $11 billion in grants and loan opportunities to help rural energy and utility providers bring affordable, reliable clean energy to their communities across the country. Funding is available through two programs as well as numerous provisions made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. Specifically, Schumer highlighted the ‘direct pay’ provisions in the IRA which allow non-profit rural cooperatives to get paid the value of the tax credit directly, rather than having to subtract the value from their taxes. Schumer said these provisions can help put rural electric coops on an even playing field with the private utilities, giving them access to the investment tax credit that covers 30% or more of qualifying clean energy projects like solar, wind, battery storage, as well as carbon capture projects, and grid modernization. Additionally, USDA recently opened a Letter of Interest process for the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program, which makes $1 billion available in partially forgivable loans to renewable-energy developers and electric service providers, including municipalities and cooperatives, to help finance large-scale solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, hydropower projects and energy storage in support of renewable energy systems.
A copy of Schumer’s letter of support to the Department of Labor appears below:
Dear Acting Secretary Su:
I am pleased to write in support of the application submitted by the Delaware County Electric Cooperative (DCEC) to the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Workforce Opportunity for Rural Communities (WORC) Initiative titled, “Building a Skilled Workforce to Construct and Maintain Core Critical Electric and Broadband Infrastructure.” DCEC is a not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative serving more than 4,800 member-owners in the rural counties of Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, and Chenango in Upstate New York.
The Delaware County Electric Cooperative is requesting $1,475,817.10 to develop a line-worker training program. The program would train at least 200 hundred workers for good-paying, union jobs in Appalachian communities by providing participants with the skills needed to maintain electric and telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas. The project is expected to impact at least nine of fourteen counties in the Appalachian portion of New York State.
I am proud to have secured billions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Law to strengthen and modernize America’s utility infrastructure. This historic investment will create and support high-quality American jobs building energy transmission lines, upgrading telecommunications infrastructure, and deploying clean energy technologies needed to power the economy. Therefore, it is crucial that targeted federal investments are made to support collaborative, cross-sector workforce development solutions like that proposed by DCEC.
I applaud the Delaware County Electric Cooperative and local partners for their foresight and sincerely hope the application is met with your approval. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or my grants coordinator at (202) 224-6542.
Sincerely,
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