The Future of the Long Island Power Authority

Laura
February 16, 2023
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Long Island Association "Lazard Report" Part 2

Laura
February 16, 2023
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Long Island Association "Lazard Report" Part 1

lena
January 24, 2023
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I am attaching a file. Many thanks. Lena Tabori

Geraldine
January 21, 2023
My name is Geraldine Maslanka, and my husband and I live in Sag Harbor. We are retired senior citizens on fixed incomes and Long Island Power Authority ratepayers. We support the work of this Commission. We feel strongly that we must end the fundamentally flawed model of our utility and transition to a fully public model. We care about this issue because our electric bills are too high and continue to increase. Electricity is like air and water. A fundamental basic need like good health care and decent housing, and should not be subject to profit making entities that do not reinvest the earnings back into the community to provide for the neediest and do its utmost to protect ratepayers. Our utility should invest in resilient infrastructure, and expand renewable energy. It must also be more democratic and provide meaningful opportunities for community participation. We need to establish an accountable and representative multi-stakeholder Board that includes, in part, the direct election of members from ratepayers residing within LIPA’s service area. This is to ensure a democratic and autonomous public electric utility system. We must replace the Department of Public Service with an independent Energy Observatory. This is a body, independent from both the utility and the government, that coordinates the needs of the utility with the needs of the community. Every self-directed public utility needs an independent partner institution to monitor and advise the utility, engage ratepayers, conduct independent research, and support communities in their own efforts for resilience and energy justice. A restructured LIPA must spend more of its revenues for the benefit of our communities. LIPA should lower utility rates, especially for low-income households, seniors, and small businesses. It should reinvest revenues to enhance resiliency, like burying our lines. And it should improve identification of and service to customers with special needs. We also need a more equitable rate structure and to explore ending power shutoffs for low-income customers who can’t pay. Finally, unless wanted by the workers, there must be no change to jobs, salaries, or benefits for the 2,500 ServCo employees under LIPA. We must also maintain IBEW Local 1049 workers under ServCo. Do not transition workers to a public sector union. Thank you for your time and consideration. Geraldine Maslanka and Lee Marshall 6 Carver Street New York, NY 11963 914 589-9300

Rameshwar
January 21, 2023
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Krae
January 20, 2023
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January 20, 2023 To the Legislative Commission on the Future of the Long Island Power Authority: The requirement by LIPA that Electric Service Companies (or ESCO’s) operate under the LI Choice Program eliminates any monetary benefits to rate payers that may be achieved with Community Choice Aggregation. This locks Long Island rate payers into paying the highest energy costs in the nation, is anti-competitive, suppresses the adoption of renewable energy on Long Island, contradicts all greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals at the federal, state and local levels and makes us more vulnerable to grid failure from storms and attacks on the grid. It is cynical and disgraceful. I don’t know how they have gotten away with this obstructionist ploy to cover the costs of their prior commitments for overbuilding transmission and distribution infrastructure that has only served the interests of PSEG investors. This must end. Wholesale and retail energy markets need to be competitive. If they are, not only will costs be brought down for rate payers, but we will be able to choose renewable energy for our homes and businesses, direct our dollars to build local energy assets that are more resilient and ultimately create local ‘transactive’ energy markets where people can buy and sell energy with their neighbors. All this will increase energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need to enable municipal energy coops and independent energy aggregators to serve Long Island and create tariffs that encourage small, distributed energy ‘pro-sumers’. Streamlined and standardized interconnection permits and rate structures that reward the full value stack of solar, storage and smart energy management software need to be established. Full public disclosure on all decision making should be required of LIPA on all RFP selections they make. Being able to operate in the dark behind closed doors invites malfeasance. All load data should be made public. Last but not least, LIPA needs to be subject to the oversight of the Public Service Commission and held truly accountable to citizen watch and not be able to regulate itself. Krae Van Sickle Co-Founder Drawdown East End 516 769 7877 krae@krae.net

Fred
January 19, 2023
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Dr. Michelle
January 6, 2023
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Laura
December 20, 2022
I am a resident of Cedarhurst, NY and I am a LIPA ratepayer. I am writing to support a transition to a fully public utility. I want to see LIPA led by the people who are most impacted by decisions concerning our energy system: ratepayers, union workers, municipalities, community organizations, low-income households, and environmental justice communities. Those who use, pay for, and work for the system must have a say in how it runs. In order to do that, many things must happen: We need to establish an accountable and representative multi-stakeholder Board that includes, in part, the direct election of members from ratepayers residing within equally apportioned districts within LIPA’s service area. This is to ensure a democratic and autonomous public electric utility system. The Board must be multi-stakeholder in terms of both constituencies and expertise. LIPA’s mission should be expanded to include climate justice, energy democracy, equity, and greater participation by its customers. This would codify LIPA’s commitment to a new paradigm of energy management in its service area. We can learn from the range of mechanisms for public engagement used by publicly owned utilities across the U.S. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has citizen review boards that allow ratepayers to be actively involved in giving feedback on specific policy proposals and/or rate increases. Seattle’s public utility has a public advisory council that advises on rates and strategic plans. Austin Energy sponsors a regional science festival to invite diverse youth to learn about the energy sector. And one of the most impressive recent examples of engagement occurred in Los Angeles, where the Department of Water and Power, as a part of developing its plan to transition to renewables by 2035, did a two-year-long engagement process that had an advisory group dedicated to environmental justice. The existing Community Advisory Board at LIPA needs to be reimagined so that communities are centered in decision-making over the energy system and that sustained public participation is a function of the utility. LIPA has struggled to engage the public across the many different Towns, Villages, and Cities of Long Island and in the Rockaways, fostering disengagement and distrust while perpetuating inequities and vulnerabilities. We must look at the above models for guidance. Every self-directed public utility needs an independent partner institution to monitor and advise the utility, engage ratepayers, conduct independent research, and support communities in their own efforts for resilience and energy justice. Under a restructured LIPA, there must be clear mechanisms and programs created to ensure community decision-making for energy planning, with proper technical assistance provided. LIPA also has the right and ability to fund, build, own, and operate its own renewable energy systems via bond issuances, which should be explored as a part of the democratic buildout of public renewables. A restructured LIPA must spend more of its revenues for the benefit of our communities. Rather than continue the decades-long habit of investing in expensive management fees for private corporations, which diverts funds from public use, LIPA can double down on its commitment to invest in Long Island and the Rockaways. LIPA has stated “Eliminating management fees and affiliate expenses saves approx. $100 million annually.” This is a savings of nearly $1 billion over the next decade by opting for operating and maintaining the grid itself. Instead of providing bonuses to unaccountable management and dividends to distant stockholders LIPA should lower utility rates, especially for low-income households, seniors, and small businesses; reinvest revenues to enhance resiliency; improve identification of and service to customers with special needs such as individuals requiring electricity for medical equipment; sewage treatment plants, and other services that would otherwise create environmental disasters; support community solar, thermal energy networks, and more wide ranging conservation programs; and seek out public-public partnerships that improve service delivery and community resilience. A more equitable rate structure is really vital, and a restructured LIPA must do more to uphold NY's goal of tackling energy burden by ensuring ratepayers don’t spend more than 6% of their monthly income on their energy bills. We should also explore the recent decision by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to end power shutoffs for low-income customers who can’t pay. Some things should stay the same, however, unless stated otherwise by the workers. There should be no change to the jobs, salaries, or benefits for the 2,500 ServCo employees. LIPA made, and kept, the same promise when it transitioned from National Grid to PSEG Long Island management in 2014. This dedicated workforce is integral to LIPA’s success under any management structure. In the transition we must maintain IBEW Local 1049 workers under ServCo and not transition workers to a public sector union. This commission was set up to steer Long Island and the Rockaways back on course to the electric utility we need. I urge this commission to stay strong on this path and incorporate the above suggestions to truly reimagine LIPA. These are the reforms needed to build a truly accountable, democratic, renewable and affordable energy system. Thank you, Laura Maffei Cedarhurst, NY

Billii
December 16, 2022
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Leonard
December 16, 2022
Good and a public sys Day. I attended the hearing at the YMCA in Rockaway yesterday. I concur with the voices of advocacy for cheaper rates and a public system. My condominium Waters Edge At Arverne, is located between Arverne By The Sea and Arverne Apartments which has all of their utility line buried as opposed to the overhead wiring that my condominium has. My condominium would be interested in a pilot program where our over head wiring could be buried and connected for a more resilient and sustainable grid. Thank you for allowing me to express my thoughts and I look forward to a more sustainable and resilient power grid.

Allison
December 15, 2022
My name is Allison, a resident of Rockaway Beach, and a Long Island Power Authority ratepayer. I am here to say that I support the work of this Commission. We must end the fundamentally flawed model of our utility and transition to a fully public model. This Commission is the opportunity to reimagine, reinvent, and restructure LIPA so that it is led by those most impacted by decisions concerning our energy system: ratepayers, union workers, municipalities, community organizations, low-income households, and environmental justice communities. We must ensure that those who use, pay for, and work for the system have a say in how it runs. In order to do that, many things must happen. We need to establish an accountable and representative multi-stakeholder Board that includes, in part, the direct election of members from ratepayers residing within equally apportioned districts within LIPA’s service area. This is to ensure a democratic and autonomous public electric utility system. The Board must be multi-stakeholder in terms of both constituencies and expertise. LIPA’s mission should be expanded to include climate justice, energy democracy, equity, and greater participation by its customers. This would codify LIPA’s commitment to a new paradigm of energy management in its service area. Across the US, publicly owned utilities employ a range of mechanisms for public engagement, which we can learn from. Some such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) have citizen review boards that allow ratepayers to be actively involved in giving feedback on specific policy proposals and/or rate increases. SMUD also has a business advisory board with a focus on racial justice. Seattle’s public utility has a public advisory council that advises on rates and strategic plans. Austin Energy sponsors a regional science festival to invite diverse youth to learn about the energy sector. And one of the most impressive recent examples of engagement occurred in Los Angeles where the Department of Water and Power, as a part of developing its plan to transition to renewables by 2035, did a two-year-long engagement process that had an advisory group dedicated to environmental justice. With this in mind, the existing Community Advisory Board at LIPA needs to be completely reimagined so that communities are centered in decision-making over the energy system and that sustained public participation is a function of the utility. LIPA has struggled to engage the public across the many different Towns, Villages, and Cities of Long Island and in the Rockaways, fostering disengagement and distrust while perpetuating inequities and vulnerabilities. We must look at the above models for guidance and take strong heed from a particularly innovative model undertaken with the Paris Water Utility, which works with an independent Paris Water Observatory. LIPA should work with a fully funded independent Energy Observatory to replace the Department of Public Service Long Island. This is a body, independent from both the utility and the government, that would coordinate the needs of the utility with the needs of the community. Partnered with universities and community-based organizations, it would be a place to meaningfully involve communities within the LIPA service territory and has the potential to empower ratepayers, enhance social justice, and improve the quality of decisions. The Department of Public Service Long Island is incapable of doing this. Every self-directed public utility needs an independent partner institution to monitor and advise the utility, engage ratepayers, conduct independent research, and support communities in their own efforts for resilience and energy justice. Under a restructured LIPA, there must be clear mechanisms and programs created to ensure community decision-making for energy planning, with proper technical assistance provided. LIPA also has the right and ability to fund, build, own, and operate its own renewable energy systems via bond issuances, which should be explored as a part of the democratic buildout of public renewables. A restructured LIPA must spend more of its revenues for the benefit of our communities. Rather than continue the decades-long habit of investing in expensive management fees for private corporations, which diverts funds from public use, LIPA can double down on its commitment to invest in Long Island and the Rockaways. LIPA has stated “Eliminating management fees and affiliate expenses saves approx. $100 million annually.” This is a savings of nearly $1 billion over the next decade by opting for operating and maintaining the grid itself. Instead of providing bonuses to unaccountable management and dividends to distant stockholders LIPA should lower utility rates, especially for low-income households, seniors, and small businesses; reinvest revenues to enhance resiliency; improve identification of and service to customers with special needs such as individuals requiring electricity for medical equipment, sewage treatment plants, and other services that would otherwise create environmental disasters; support community solar, thermal energy networks, and more wide ranging conservation programs; and seek out public-public partnerships that improve service delivery and community resilience. A more equitable rate structure is really vital and a restructured LIPA must do more to uphold NYs goal of tackling energy burden by ensuring ratepayers don’t spend more than 6% of their monthly income on their energy bills. We should also explore the recent decision by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to end power shutoffs for low-income customers who can’t pay. Some things should stay the same, however, unless stated otherwise by the workers. There should be no change to the jobs, salaries, or benefits for the 2,500 ServCo employees. LIPA made, and kept, the same promise when it transitioned from National Grid to PSEG Long Island management in 2014. This dedicated workforce is integral to LIPA’s success under any management structure. In the transition we must maintain IBEW Local 1049 workers under ServCo and not transition workers to a public sector union. This commission was set up to steer Long Island and the Rockaways back on course to the electric utility we need. I urge this commission to stay strong on this path and incorporate the above suggestions to truly reimagine LIPA. These are the reforms needed to build a truly accountable, democratic, renewable and affordable energy system. Keep the Commission process and outcomes accountable The Commission must stick to the timeline established by the legislation that created it. These public hearings are behind schedule and there must be no more delays. LIPA must reclaim its accountability, control, and responsibility for all aspects of its electric grid and thus act as a self-governing public corporation accountable to the public. This includes ownership and control of the electric grid and all its assets, revenues, and financial instruments, as well as operation, management, and policymaking for the electric grid for the public good. We must have a competent Executive Board and staff that operate and maintain all parts of the electric grid. Make LIPA more democratic We need to establish an accountable and representative multi-stakeholder Board that includes, in part, the direct election of members from ratepayers residing within equally apportioned districts within LIPA’s service area. This is to ensure a democratic and autonomous public electric utility system. The Board must be multi-stakeholder in terms of both constituencies and expertise. It should be composed of traditional members skilled in management, policy, law, science, engineering, technology, and cybersecurity. It should also consist of workers, customers, and community-based organizations, as well as experts in justice, resilience, and engagement. Most or all board members should be elected by the public. LIPA’s mission should be expanded to include climate justice, energy democracy, equity, and greater participation by its customers. Radically improve community engagement & oversight At the very least, LIPA should be working with an empowered community advisory board with its own budget, composed of diverse local community members, municipalities, community-based organizations, labor unions, and businesses. There must be clear mechanisms and programs created to ensure community decision-making for energy planning, with proper technical assistance provided. Ideally LIPA would work with a fully funded independent Energy Observatory in order to: Engage the public to provide input on the utility’s performance and services, comment at board meetings and hearings, and review budgets; Observe and offer input on LIPA policies, procedures, programs, and actions; Contract with local schools and universities to conduct relevant, independent research to deal with the changing climate and equitably integrating renewable and performance-enhancing technologies in homes, schools, businesses, and municipalities in Nassau and Suffolk Counties and the Rockaways; Enable diverse ratepayers to make proposals to address their needs and desires for more affordable, renewable and resilient programs (e.g. community-owned solar and thermal energy networks, energy conservation retrofits, school bus vehicle-to-grid networks) We must replace the Department of Public Service with this independent Energy Observatory. This is a body, independent from both the utility and the government, that coordinates the needs of the utility with the needs of the community. Partnered with universities and community-based organizations, it is a place to meaningfully involve communities within the LIPA service territory and has the potential to empower ratepayers, enhance social justice, and improve the quality of decisions. The Department of Public Service-Long Island is incapable of doing this. Every self-directed public utility needs an independent partner institution to monitor and advise the utility, engage ratepayers, conduct independent research, and support communities in their own efforts for resilience and energy justice. Keep the workforce the same Unless wanted by the workers, there must be no change to jobs, salaries, or benefits for the 2,500 ServCo employees. LIPA made, and kept, the same promise when it transitioned from National Grid to PSEG Long Island management in 2014. This dedicated workforce is integral to LIPA’s success under any management structure. Maintain IBEW Local 1049 workers under ServCo. Do not transition workers to a public sector union. Spend revenues for the benefit of our communities Rather than continue the decades-long habit of investing in expensive management fees for private corporations, which diverts funds from public use, LIPA can double down on its commitment to invest in Long Island and the Rockaways. LIPA has stated “Eliminating management fees and affiliate expenses saves approx. $100 million annually.” This is a savings of nearly $1 billion over the next decade by opting for operating and maintaining the grid itself. So instead of providing bonuses to unaccountable management and dividends to distant stockholders LIPA can: Lower utility rates, especially for low-income households, seniors, and small businesses Reinvest revenues to enhance resiliency (e.g., bury lines to reduce future outages) Improve identification of and service to customers with special needs such as individuals requiring electricity for medical equipment (e.g. respirators, refrigerators), sewage treatment plants, and other services that would otherwise create environmental disasters Support community solar, thermal energy networks, and more wide ranging conservation programs Seek out public-public partnerships that improve service delivery and community resilience (e.g., partnering with public bus systems to reduce emissions, improve air quality and reliability through electrification like NYPA is doing upstate and at JFK airport) Public power is the way to go Publicly-owned utilities and co-ops nationwide fare as well or better than private sector utilities in the measures customers care about most: customer satisfaction and reliability. They also tend to be leaders in clean energy. Across the country, 2,000 public power utilities serve almost 15% of Americans, offering 13% cheaper rates and 46% shorter outage times than private utilities. In the face of worsening storms, Winter Park, Florida voted to municipalize in 2003. They’ve since expanded solar generation and vastly improved grid reliability, while keeping rates below their state’s average. Municipal utilities can be remarkably innovative: In 1996, Chattanooga’s Electric Power Board began investing in fiber optics, laying the groundwork for a world-class smart grid that has reduced power outages by 60% and saved the city close to $60 million annually. LIPA’s own Adoptions Analysis supports this path: “Eliminating management fees and affiliate expenses saves approx. $100 million annually. Municipal Management is financially feasible and an attractive alternative to the single-source service provider model. This savings can be used for storm hardening, investing in clean energy production, and lowering rates.” Thank you for your time and consideration

Kelly
December 13, 2022
Given the need to rapidly respond to climate change and to transition away from reliance on fossil fuels, I am in favor of the public option for LIPA. Private companies are required to return value to their stockholders, who are not necessarily the customers LIPA serves. In public control, LIPA can shift from the priority of stockholders to the broader public need to lower costs while accelerating the transition away from fossil fuels to power residents and businesses on Long Island.

Jenna
December 13, 2022
My name is Jenna Tipaldo, a born & raised resident of Rockaway, and my family is a Long Island Power Authority ratepayer. I am a PhD student and researcher in environmental health with a focus on climate impacts. I am here to say that I support the work of this Commission. There is a great opportunity with this restructuring of LIPA to address several critical societal issues at once - the mission of LIPA should be reformed to include climate justice, energy democracy, equity, and greater participation by its customers. Revenues must be reinvested to lower utility rates, especially for low-income households, seniors, and small businesses, making sure that New Yorkers are not spending more than 6% of their income on energy bills. There is increasing evidence that 'energy insecurity,' the inability of lower income people to have stable energy due to a lack of affordability, has health consequences. A 2016 publication in the scientific journal Social Science & Medicine (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5114037/) provides a review of how energy insecurity impacts the health and wellbeing of low income people. Author Diana Hernández of Columbia University's school of public health notes and cites literature that demonstrates how barriers to energy security disproportionately impacts people of color, especially Black/African Americans in the U.S, and how "the “heat or eat” dilemma demonstrates the trade-offs that low-income householders make in order to meet the basic necessities of life whereby at-risk groups are forced to decide between food and energy, often sacrificing one for the other." The study itself involved interviews with heads of household that revealed that an inability to afford energy costs was related to exposures to heat and cold, chronic stress and mental health impacts, as well as parental stigma and family disruption. The Commission should explore the recent decision by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to end power shutoffs for low-income customers who can’t pay that could reduce some of these impacts on already vulnerable members of society. In addition to helping lower customer bills, revenues should also be invested to improve the resiliency of the grid through investments in the physical infrastructure as well as in renewable energy sources such as community solar. As we face the impacts of climate change including storms and extreme temperatures, a resilient grid will be needed to serve the needs of the population, such as A/C in a heatwave and critical medical equipment, and to prevent power outages. Furthermore, workers must be protected in this transition. Unless wanted by the workers, there must be no change to jobs, salaries, or benefits for the 2,500 ServCo employees. LIPA made, and kept, the same promise when it transitioned from National Grid to PSEG Long Island management in 2014. This dedicated workforce is integral to LIPA’s success under any management structure. Regarding management structure, there is evidence that publicly-owned utilities and co-ops nationwide fare as well or better than private sector utilities in the measures customers care about most: customer satisfaction and reliability. They also tend to be leaders in clean energy and offer lower rates and shorter outage times. Thank you for your time and attention regarding this important matter.

Martin
December 8, 2022
I urge that the future of energy on Long Island strongly take into consideration not simply the cost,safety and reliability of our energy system,but crucially the long term impact of overdependence on fossil fuels.That requires in my view,a massive investment in conservation to cut unnecessary demand.I believe this can best be accomplished by a citizen controlled public power authority,not a private profit seeking utility. Martin Melkonian Adjunct Associate Professor,Economics,Hofstra University

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