LIPA
A Cuomo commission proposes privatizing LIPA, with all that entails
A commission appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo today recommended New York State privatize the Long Island Power Authority, the state-run utility that performed abysmally following Hurricane Sandy, but what will that mean for ratepayers?
"The costs of privatization...are significant and none of these things are going to come about without a probable increase in rates," said Michael Fragin, who served on the LIPA board of trustees' finance committee through 2011. More
Cuomo complains again about power companies, says they're state-regulated 'in theory'
Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday once again assailed the state's power companies and what he described as their lack of accountability.
"In theory they're regulated by the state, but not so much," said the governor, who, as the state's chief executive, oversees the state's utilities. More
(1)Who wouldn't want to fix LIPA?
Now, finally, Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to remake the Long Island Power Authority, turning it into an efficient, well-run power company that is able to protect its grid from future Hurricane Sandy-like storm surges. More
(1)Shortly after a probe is announced, Cuomo's LIPA cleansing begins
Tuesday, the same day Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a formal investigation of state utilities, the acting head of the most criticized one, LIPA, resigned.
. "I was in the interim position as acting CEO and COO for the past two years plus, and it seemed like I didn't have further opportunities here," Michael Hervey told the Wall Street Journal. More
Cuomo launches a Moreland Commission, finally moving to take charge of the utilities issue
After two weeks of criticizing the power companies' performance after Hurricane Sandy, Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a Moreland Commission charged with investigating every utility company in New York State. More
Contradicting Cuomo, LIPA operations chief 'can't speak to how the governor got his information'
“They ran out of poles, believe it or not,” Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday, referring to the Long Island Power Authority, which is still scrambling to restore power to Long Island and Queens residents in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. “They ran out of poles. You know, poles are something that a utility company would want to have, you would think. You look at what a utility company does, it basically comes down to wire and poles and crews and trucks. These are things you would want to have. How can you run out of poles?”
On Sunday, during a meeting in the Rockaways, Nicholas Lizanich, LIPA's vice president of transmission and distribution operations, said Cuomo was wrong.
He also said that Cuomo, as the state's chief executive, is in charge of the very authority he's dragging through the mud. More
(1)Bloomberg's contractor army: 'We're gonna get a bunch of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, whatever'
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has a new program designed to mollify New Yorkers frustrated by the slow pace of rebuilding efforts in New York City: NYC Rapid Repairs.
"'We're gonna get a bunch of carpenters, electricians, plumbers, whatever," he said this afternoon in City Hall. More
Why has it taken Andrew Cuomo so long to do something about LIPA?
Governor Andrew Cuomo has been lambasting LIPA's performance post-Hurricane Sandy ever chance he gets. But LIPA is actually an arm of the state he controls. More
(8)Briefing: It's taking too long for the public to get electricity and, apparently, pictures of Andrew Cuomo with storm victims
The longer a recovery takes, the greater the chance that the people working on it will become the story. Today seems to be a bit of a day of reckoning. More
