Cuomo Orders Investigation of N.Y. Utilities’ Storm Preparation and Response

An executive order signed by New York’s Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) on Monday establishes a commission to investigate the response, preparation, and management of New York’s power utility companies during recent major storms that have hit the state of the past two years, including Hurricanes Sandy and Irene, and Tropical Storm Lee. The mandate seeks to reform overlapping responsibilities of the state’s regulatory bodies, state agencies and authorities, and quasi-governmental bodies, which the governor’s office alleges have “contributed to a dysfunctional utility system.”

The commission established under the Moreland Act—a 1907 law allowing the governor to look into the management of any department, board, bureau, or commission in the state—is required to review all actions taken by power companies in the state and has been empowered to subpoena and enforce the attendance of witnesses. The review will scrutinize actions by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), the New York Power Authority (NYPA), and Con Edison before and after the devastating storms. It is expected to result in specific recommendations to reform and modernize oversight regulation as well as management of the state’s power delivery services by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and the Public Service Commission (PSC).

Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29 caused massive power outages throughout New York State, affecting more than two million customers, including 90% of customers on Long Island. On Nov. 7, a Nor’easter exacerbated the suffering, property damage, and power outages sustained in some of the same areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. New York was pummeled by severe weather events in August and September of 2011 as a result of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee, when more than one million customers lost power. December 2008 also saw an ice storm that caused more than 300,000 power outages in New York State; many customers remained without power a week after the storm.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability on Wednesday reported that more than 84,000 utility customers were still without power in New York and New Jersey, mainly due to flood damage after Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent Nor’easter. These include about 16,300 Consolidated Edison customers in New York City, 38,000 LIPA customers on Long Island, and 30,000 Jersey Central Power & Light customers in New Jersey.

LIPA on Wednesday said it was close to restoring electric service to the last 8,000 customers on Long Island that are able to safely receive power. The remaining 30,000 will need to make necessary repairs to their homes to receive an electric certification stating they can safely accept power, LIPA said, adding that after that, those customers could expect to have power re-established in less than 48 hours.

 LIPA, in particular, has come under fire. The municipal electric utility does not own any generation; it owns the retail electric system on Long Island that provides service to more than 1.1 million customers. On Tuesday, two customers filed a class action lawsuit against LIPA and National Grid, the firm that operates LIPA’s network, over failures related to Sandy. The utility has been criticized before, after Hurricane Irene last year, when a state public commission report warned that the utility’s computer system was obsolete and it relied on a paper system for tracking storm damage.

On Tuesday, Michael Harvey, the CEO of the beleaguered utility resigned but said it had nothing to do with renewed fury about the outages. Harvey said he had been planning to step down for months, reported The Wall Street Journal.

Sources: POWERnews, Gov. Cuomo’s Office, DOE, LIPA, The Wall Street Journal

—Sonal Patel, Senior Writer (@POWERmagazine)