State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. have introduced legislation that would make major changes to the Long Island Power Authority and PSEG in order to “restore transparency, oversight and local control to the operation,” according to a press release from both lawmakers this week.
The proposed Long Island Power Authority Ratepayers Protection Act would replace LIPA’s nine-member, appointed board with eight members elected by voters from eight equally populated districts throughout the agency’s service area, which includes both Nassau and Suffolk counties, and the Rockaways.
The ninth member, who would chair the board, would still be appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, as has been the case since LIPA was created in 1986.
The bill would also require a referendum before LIPA could take on any more debt.
The new board would have the freedom to consider a rate increase as well, while in the process evaluating the economic impact it would have on ratepayers; currently, the LIPA board has limited discretion. If the legislation passes, the Long Island branch of the State Department of Public Service would have sole authority to approve rate requests from the board after public hearings, and not just make recommendations on them, as it does now.
The act would also prevent the Department of Public Service and LIPA from approving rate increases to offset revenue losses from consumer energy conservation efforts.
“LIPA would be responsible to Long Islanders, not Albany,” the joint release states.
Additionally, the bill, which would take effect January 1, 2019, would expand the availability of hydroelectric power and grant the state comptroller and attorney general oversight of all LIPA activities relating to contracts and fiscal and legal issues. Those officials were stripped of that authority in 2013 when Governor Cuomo signed the LIPA Reform Act.
Mr. Thiele said this week that he did not vote for the 2013 bill because it does not benefit ratepayers, adding that his opinion of that measure still applies today. He explained that under the LIPA Reform Act, Long Islanders will experience the single-highest rate increase in the history of the agency—a $325 million, three-year rate increase approved by the LIPA board late last year. He also noted that the agency’s debt has increased by more than $1 billion since the act’s passage.
“From a purely financial point of view, [there is] more debt and higher rates than we had three years ago—and that wasn’t the intent of this,” Mr. Thiele said. “LIPA was enacted in 1986. I think that the 2013 legislation [changed] the intent of the 1986 law, which was to have a locally controlled power authority.”
Mr. LaValle echoed the assemblyman’s comments.
“Long Island ratepayers have suffered from high electric rates, climbing debt and a lack of transparency for too long. By having an elected Board, LIPA would become more responsive to us, instead of Albany regulators,” he said. “Ratepayers have been overburdened, and it’s time we hold the electric providers accountable.”
Alyssa Melillo on May 17, 2016