Long Island Power Authority
(Stephen Nessen/WNYC)
Many Long Island residents and officials want the state to reform - possibly even get rid of - the Long Island Power Authority. They voiced their frustrations at a public hearing on Long Island Tuesday night.
It was the second hearing for a state commission Governor Andrew Cuomo formed last month to investigate state power companies' handling of Sandy.Many residents lost electricity in the storm and some didn't have power for weeks.
One of the hardest hit areas was Long Island were about 90 percent of LIPA's customers went down in the storm.
"We had a 21st century storm but a 19th century power company. I saw LIPA surveyors after Sandy going house to house recording damage with pencil and paper when 4G tablets are available," Seymour Spiegel, a Jericho resident, told the Moreland Commission, which includes energy experts, a district attorney and a former congressman.
The commission, which the governor formed using the 1907 Moreland Act allowing him to investigate state bodies, is gathering information directly from the companies, other government agencies and through several public meetings.
In addition to angry residents, the panel heard from local leaders including the executives of both Nassau and Suffolk County. The head of the New York Power Authority also spoke. These leaders told of their experience dealing with LIPA and recommended a number of changes such as beefing up technology and improving planning for the use of outside crews.
Pedro Quintanilla, a Village of Westbury resident, called for more accountability. Quintanilla said he represented a group called the Long Island Congregations, Associations and Neighborhoods.
"We are here to make sure that Long Islanders finally get a power company that is accountable to its customers, that is prepared to restore service rapidly and provides true transparency," Quintanilla said.
Not all speakers went on the attack against the company. Some offered praise and accused the commission of being a political tool.
The commission will ultimately make recommendations on how to reform LIPA as well as the agencies that regulate energy in the state. The next public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 20.
Robert Lewis is a reporter for WNYC. He joined the station in December 2012 after a decade as an ink-stained wretch, working for newspapers across the country. He was previously on the investigations team at Newsday where he reported on prescription drug abuse, problems at a local housing authority and the Long Island Power Authority.
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