ALBANY - Governor David Paterson Thursday announced that the state will provide low-cost hydropower to three businesses in Erie and Niagara Counties, which will create 143 new jobs and spur nearly $31 million in new capital investment.

On Tuesday, Trustees of the New York Power Authority approved new allocations of low-cost hydropower from the Authority’s Niagara Power Project to three companies: American Pharmaceutical Partners in Grand Island, API Heat Transfer in Buffalo and Certified Fabrications in Sanborn. The hydropower allocations will be drawn from the “Replacement Power” program, one of two blocks of power from the Authority’s Niagara Power Project that is reserved for Western New York businesses under State law.

American Pharmaceutical Partners, one of the largest producers of injectable pharmaceutical products in the country, received an allocation of 700 kilowatts to support a $25 million expansion of its existing manufacturing facility. APP will add 60 jobs to its current workforce of more than 500 in connection with the expansion.

API Heat Transfer, a leader in the design and manufacture of heat exchangers, received a 300-kw hydropower allocation in support of a $5.5 million expansion which will lead to 75 new jobs. API is adding manufacturing and office space to its Buffalo facility, where 265 people are now employed, and is purchasing new equipment. The company, which has experienced significant sales growth, also operates a manufacturing facility in Arcade, in addition to operations overseas. One of those facilities, in China, competed for the expansion.