MASSENA -- More than two years after Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed the Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Act, the board has held its first meeting.

The board will approve funding allocations for private and private non-profit organizations from a pool of money generated by net earnings from the sale of a block of unallocated electricity from the Power Authority’s St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project.

The fund has already accrued nearly $2 million.

"This first meeting has laid the groundwork for many impactful future project recommendations. My colleagues on the allocation board and I are excited to be part of a process that has so much potential to bring positive economic activity to this area," Patrick J. Kelly, board chairman and CEO of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency said.

The power proceeds board is comprised of the following members, appointed by Governor Cuomo: chairman Patrick Kelly, CEO of the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, in Canton; Robert McNeil, partner in McNeil Accounting Services, in Lisbon; Theresa Phalon, president and CEO of North Country Savings Bank, in Canton; and Roger Sharlow, principal of RJS Consulting, in Waddington. It is expected that a fifth board member will be appointed at a later date.

The board aims to St. Lawrence County economy by providing funding to businesses and other enterprises using money from New York Power Authority electricity sales.

The proceeds board will rely on similar criteria for determining funding recipients as those for NYPA’s hydropower allocations to Northern New York businesses. They include jobs, capital investments and the long-term commitments of applicants to the region.

The Northern New York Power Proceeds Allocation Act is similar to legislation created in 2012 for the use of unutilized hydropower from NYPA’s Niagara Power Project for economic development in Western New York.

The board established the administrative protocol to begin soliciting and reviewing funding applications from businesses and not-for-profit organizations in St. Lawrence County.

It is expected to begin making recommendations as early as April to the NYPA Board of Trustees, which would approve any funding. Eligibility criteria and application instructions are at the proceeds board’s website at www.nypa.gov/NNYPPAB/.