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National Grid Awards $300,000 To Niagara County For Economic Development Site Work In Pendleton, Cambria

Project Designed to Enhance Parcels for Commercial/Industrial Purposes; Includes Joint Marketing Effort on Completion

Jan. 13, 2010 – National Grid will partner with the Niagara County Center for Economic Development in bringing two large parcels to shovel ready status for marketing to targeted industries. The company is providing $300,000 from its Strategic Economic Development Outreach program, with amounts to be matched by the Towns of Cambria and Pendleton for water and sewer infrastructure enhancements.

The project will include a comprehensive review of both sites, and the development of detailed information packages that will be available to the county’s Industrial Development Agency, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise and New York’s Empire State Development agency for marketing. Such a comprehensive analysis was lacking in previous efforts to market these two sites for development, county officials said.

“A significant goal of our corporate vision is to support the communities we serve, and this grant is just one example of that effort,” said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive for National Grid in Western New York. “National Grid continues to make major investments in our infrastructure and, by helping put these parcels on the radar of site selectors and developers, we hope to take advantage of our facilities while helping to attract quality jobs for the region.”

The two sites that will be made “Shovel Ready” include a 142-acre parcel on Lockport Road between Bear Ridge Road and Campbell Boulevard in the town of Pendleton, and a 71-acre parcel at Lockport and Comstock Roads in Cambria.

“We wish to express our sincere thanks to National Grid for their generous assistance. As a result, we will be far ahead of the curve in future opportunities to attract data centers and other high tech companies,” said Legislator Rick Updegrove, R-Lockport, chairman of the Niagara County Legislature’s Economic Development Committee. “Information will be assembled into a comprehensive package for each site including an environmental assessment, transportation studies and complete information on all utilities serving the sites. Upon completion of all studies, the site consultant will prepare and submit a ‘Shovel Ready’ application for each site to Empire State Development.”

“By doing this advance work, which is needed to secure the necessary permits we

will reduce the amounts of time and money that a business would spend on construction of a new facility,” Updegrove added. “These savings are a valuable incentive for local businesses that are expanding, as well as for out-of-state businesses seeking a new location. Having the designation ’Shovel Ready’ puts a site at the top of the list for site selectors and real estate professionals looking to site new project expansions.”

National Grid’s economic development plan maintains a strong focus on site development, community revitalization, strategic marketing, and facilitating customer growth through infrastructure assistance, energy efficiency and productivity improvement. The plan also reflects an increasing emphasis on sustainable development, the efficient use of existing energy infrastructure, and the strategic deployment of renewable generation technologies.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.