Go Public

Surprising no one, at the conclusion of its review of the Long Island Power Authority, the state legislative commission on the future of LIPA last month recommended that LIPA be transformed into a public power utility.

LIPA owns Long Island’s electrical grid. But instead of operating, maintaining and expanding the grid itself, LIPA contracts with Public Service Enterprise Group, a for-profit company based in New Jersey. Prior to 2014, LIPA contracted with National Grid. Both partnerships have proven to be disastrous for Long Island — and the switch to PSEG has not delivered “the best technical ability and the lowest cost” as promised in 2011.

It’s long past time for Long Islanders to take local control.

When 1 million Long Island ratepayers lost power in 2020 due to Tropical Storm Isaias, PSEG Long Island’s shortcomings were on full display. A LIPA task force report revealed mismanagement, outage reporting system failure and misleading promises of restoration.

On the East End, PSEG’s disregard for Long Island ratepayers’ sentiment was clear when, with no publicity and not a single local public meeting to reveal its intentions, PSEG installed giant steel poles on County Road 51 and Eastport Manor Road in 2017. A protracted fight, which ended with some of the poles being removed and the lines buried at great expense, could have been avoided had PSEG Long Island been plugged into local sentiment the way a locally controlled public utility would be and responded appropriately.

Instead of transparency, PSEG operated under the notion that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, disregarding admonitions from the New York State Public Service Commission that arose after past blunders.

As the grid plugs into offshore wind farms and solar farms over the next few years and battery energy storage systems become a part of the power supply equation, Long Islanders deserve greater control over where infrastructure will go and what form it takes. They also deserve to have their electricity bills pay for a more resilient grid and better service rather than corporate profits.

PSEG’s contract is up in 2025. Our state and local leaders have time to change how Long Island’s grid is administered. Extending the contract with PSEG or bringing in a different for-profit corporation with a new contract will inevitably lead to disappointment.

Let PSEG’s decade run be a lesson well-learned, and act accordingly.