Senator Cathy Young Comments on NRG Layoffs in Dunkirk

64 Employees at NRG in Dunkirk were given WARN layoff notices. Senator Cathy issued the following statement in response:

“The issuance of the WARN letters to the employees of NRG’s Dunkirk generating facility is extremely disappointing news. It is devastating for the employees, their families, Dunkirk and Chautauqua County as a whole. If the layoffs do occur as indicated, the job loss and the loss of the tax revenue from the plant will be terrible. My highest concern remains for the future of these workers and their loved ones, and the overall well-being of our community.

“We will not give up the fight. I will continue my mission for the construction of a state of the art natural gas plant at the Dunkirk site. The fact is that congestion problems on the electric grid remain and need to be resolved. NRG or its successor owner can still be part of that solution.  

“Maintaining a base load electric plant is of the utmost importance to having any hope for a strong economic future for our entire region. It is essential that we have a locally generated supply of clean, affordable, non-intermittent and reliable power if we are to attract the manufacturers and suppliers to our region. We easily outdistance anyone else on the globe when it comes to the best and most productive workers and overall manufacturing and supply goods support system. Let us not condemn our future due to the shortsighted failure of those that do not see our potential and resolve. Without this power we have no way to attract the new employers that create good-paying jobs and retain our existing firms and employees.

“Transmitting dirty power from hundreds of miles away to make up for the Dunkirk facility is simply unacceptable. Governor Cuomo and the entire Southwestern New York community have been united in very clear support for the repowering project and continued operation of the Dunkirk plant and its clean and efficient natural gas successor. I will continue to fight to find the solution that preserves and grows our jobs, and gives us a future where a modern plant is operating and giving us the resources we so desperately require.”