The fuel cells will provide backup power at the facilities.

"There is no better use for advanced energy technologies than protecting public health and safety," said Timothy Carey, New York Power Authority's president and chief executive. "These fuel-cell installations will keep state communications online when they are often needed the most, during power outages and other emergency situations."

One of the sites to have the backup power units will be a New York state Department of Transportation communications tower in Albion. This facility, which handles communications in western New York, was disabled during the October snow emergency.

The $434,000 in funding for the program comes from Petroleum Overcharge Restitution funds. Administered by the Power Authority in New York state, the funds are the proceeds of court settlements relating to oil company violations of federal price controls in the 1970s and 1980s