Cuomo threatens utilities

[dave]

I'm sorry, this is just so hard for me to believe, like I woke up in a dream. To think that NY State would wake up the State Utilities Commission and ask them to force the utilities to be responsible ... well, I just can't get over it.


www.windsweptpress.com/TEMP/logo OD.jpg[/img]


Cuomo threatens utilities with loss of NY business


ALBANY — Utilities faced with restoring power to millions of New Yorkers often amid rubble and trees downed by superstorm Sandy now face at least one more thing: A threat to their future in the state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday threatened utility companies' rights to operate in the state if they don't immediately put power restoration work into highest gear.

"They were not established in the Old Testament," Cuomo said from Manhattan. "The state grants them the right to be here and I'm going to hold them accountable."

Cuomo referred to the state Public Service Commission, which regulates utilities to make sure they are meeting standards of service, including the response to power outages.

"Some of the utilities suggested my admonition was strict for them," Cuomo said. "I do believe in the past they haven't been held accountable."

He said the state could revoke the state's certificates of public convenience and necessity awarded to utilities under state Public Service Law. The Public Service Commission hasn't responded to requests for comment about the level of complaints.

Continue at:

www.uticaod.com/elections/x1440172428/Cuomo-threatens-utilities-with-loss-of-NY-business

[clarencebunsen]

Is there any evidence of crews not putting forth a best effort to restore service? I've read of crews from as far away as Alabama and Tennessee using their own time to volunteer in New York and New Jersey.

My direct experience interacting with line crews is decades old and many states away, but the norm for response to storm outages used to be 24 hours on then 8 off followed by 16 on 8 off, then 12 or 16 per day until done. There is a limit to the resources (men & equipment) available. When entire neighborhoods are gone putting a functioning grid back together is not just a matter of stringing a few wires. A distribution line cannot be energized until everything connected to it has either been isolated or confirmed safe. A moments carelessness can result in death. Restoring service to a home with an incorrectly connected generator can cause fire, destroyed property, even electrocution.

[dave]

I'm sure the problem is not with the workers. Management, however, can control the amount of resources as well as where they are deployed. An example, before I left NY I noticed a decrease in the amount of preventative tree trimming and consequent increase of power outages for storms of lesser strength. Cuomo may ... for all I know ... be complaining about the lack of willingness of the the utilities to pay for overtime or for expenses from extra crews that come in from the outside.

I don't know if Cuomo's ire ... he's certainly no angel ... is deserved or not, and I don't know the specifics of his complaint. But I can imagine the possibility that Utilities are not doing their best and it's been a long time since I saw the Public Service Commission grow any teeth.

However, to be fair, this from a Fox New story:

"The power industry's defenders have pointed out that Sandy was huge and hit the nation's most densely populated corridor. By the Energy Department's reckoning, it left more people in the dark than any other storm in U.S. history.

"It did more than knock down power lines; it flooded switching stations and substations, forcing workers to take apart hundreds of intricate components, clean them, replace some of them, rewire others and put it all back together. Only after these stations are re-energized can workers go out and repair lines.

"Cuomo appears to be all by himself among the New York area's big three politicians. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended Con Ed and said it has done a good job in recent years. And New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie praised the utilities, saying he expects all of the state to have power back by early Sunday. New Jersey had about 400,000 outages on Thursday.

"The villain in this case is Hurricane Sandy," Christie said."

From:

www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/08/more-weather-misery-for-sandy-victims-as-new-storm-bears-down-on-new-york-city/

[strikeslip]

Actually, the villain is Mr. Cuomo himself. The problems are in the area served by the Long Island Power Authority -- an entity created by his father. A recent report notes that LIPA has a long history of lackluster performance -- not surprising considering that it is an arm of State Government. Mr. Cuomo's responsibility comes in his failure to appoint a permanent CEO and new members of the board. When an organization lacks leadership, it fails.

[clarencebunsen]

Thank you, Strikeslip. My mini-rant above was a bit light on facts. We can't even fire the CEO of the authority since there hasn't been one for two years. As usual Fault Lines provides insight and path to additional information.

[clarencebunsen]

The NY Times provided follow up on continuing problems with LIPA. Some selected quotes:

The authority has not had a permanent chief executive for two years. Five spots on the 15-member board are vacant, 3 of which are Mr. Cuomo’s to fill.

The authority’s chairman, Howard E. Steinberg, has stayed on past an expired term. He was originally appointed by Gov. George E. Pataki, who left office almost six years ago.

Also on Tuesday, the authority’s acting chief executive, Michael D. Hervey, announced his resignation effective at the end of the year.

The authority’s chairman, Mr. Steinberg, said the trustees spent only 39 seconds discussing the storm at the meeting because the board was confident that a plan was in place. He noted that the trustees were not utility professionals, but rather “an oversight board of citizens.”

While oversight has drifted, politicians have installed relatives and friends in executive positions at the authority, turning it into a rich source of patronage jobs, according to interviews and a review of state records.

These positions have an average salary of $110,000, the records show.

“There are many, many people who have been placed at LIPA during my tenure here who have no utility experience or training in the job that they have been placed in,” said Tracy Burgess-Levy, the authority’s director of community relations.

www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/nyregion/long-island-power-authoritys-flaws-hindered-recovery-efforts.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121114

[dave]

Kinda like the passengers flying the airplane.

[clarencebunsen]

A committee of passengers directing an nephew of the flight attendant on how to fly the airplane.

[dave]

Don't be surprised if this "gang who couldn't shoot straight" wants to build another Shoreham Nuke sometime in the future. LIPA bought the assets of LILCO's Shoreham plant and closed it down some years ago when people across the island were upset that no credible evacuation plan existed if another Three Mile Island occurred. And then Chernobyl blew up. That sent the islanders off the scale in fright and taxpayers payed $6,000,000,000.00 to shut it down. But the public memory is short, especially when subjected to advertising and likely stories.

[denise]

A problem with today's society is some people want stuff done yesterday. Not always possible.

FWIW, my husband told me that after NNY ice storm (1998?) there were some locations in Jefferson County that did not have electricity restored for almost a month. (This is why you see so many residents with natural gas/propane powered generators in NNY.)