Governor Requests Federal Investigation of LIPA

John Mitty Monday, June 24, 2013

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has been under fire since Hurricane Sandy, when it became apparent how ill-prepared the authority was to handle disaster.  And now, things are heating up even more.  The New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, stated this Sunday that he will be requesting that federal prosecutors review a report involving LIPA and a private consulting firm which suggests that LIPA may have engaged in less than reasoanble billing practices. 

Last week, New York legislators finally voted to dismantle the state-owned power authority.  More than 90% of 1.1 million Long Island LIPA customers had no power for as long as two weeks during the harsh winter storm, causing inconvenience for some, danger for others.  According to the most recent findings, LIPA may have charged ratepayers exorbitant fees, and also paid consultants high fees without monitoring where their own bills were going.  Right now indications are that many of the consultant fees had nothing to do with providing power to residents.  The commission which conducted the investigation referred to the practices as comprising “breathtaking waste and inefficiency.”  Once LIPA is dismantled, it will be replaced by a private utility based in New Jersey called Public Service Enterprise Group, Inc.

jmitty@longislandyellowpages.com

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