New York lawmakers have introduced a bill to allow the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) to operate its own public utility.
The LIPA Public Power Act would allow the quasi-public agency to distribute electricity themselves to Long Island and Rockaway residents without the need for a third-party company. Currently, power is provided by PSEG Long Island, an investor-owned, for-profit utility company whose contract is up in 2025.
LIPA has been exploring a true public power model after the utility company's poor performance in responding to Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020.
"PSEG Long Island is the best performing overhead utility in the state of New York in both reliability and customer satisfaction according to FERC and JD Power," a company spokesperson said. "We are dedicated to providing our customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways."
"We are reviewing the legislation," they added.
Lisa Tyson, co-chair of the LIPA Community Advisory Board, said that Long Island is among the only places in the country that has a third-party company running its entire electrical system, resulting in residents paying some of the highest electric rates in the nation.
As of October 2023, PSEG Long Island customers spend an average of 22.73 cents per kilowatt hour for their residential electricity, which is 11.92% higher than the average state price of 20.31 cents.
If the bill passes, LIPA plans to have 26 representatives for a number of different stakeholder groups, environmental groups and community organizations. This will allow Long Island residents to make decisions regarding lowering rates and improving service to developing renewables and efficiency programs. Tyson said community engagement is something that is desperately needed in the area.
"The Community Stakeholder Board is going to be really out in the community talking to people," Tyson said. "Like, do they want to have solar and heat pumps? And what kind of programs would they want to have in their homes?"
Tyson added that the next step is to get the bill passed in this legislative session in order to execute their transition to full public power by the time PSEG’s management contract expires at the end of 2025.
On top of making power cheaper and more reliable, LIPA also aims to improve solar, wind and other clean energy to help New York state achieve its goal of having 70% of its energy come from renewable sources by 2023.
Tyson, who is also the executive director of the Long Island Progressive Coalition, said that it's imperative for LIPA to do everything it can to help the state achieve its renewable energy goal, something she feels PSEG Long Island has neglected to do.
"Climate change is at our door," Tyson said. "It's coming into our homes, literally. So how are we going to address it? This is not about buying oil and gas for the cheapest prices to have cheap energy. Because we can't continue to buy oil and gas anymore. And how we do it has to be led by the people, not the greedy corporations."
