The Issue: Gov. Cuomo’s responsibility for LIPA’s efficiency after Hurricanes Irene and Sandy.
***
The Post documents Gov. Cuomo’s failure to fix the Long Island Power Authority after Hurricane Irene very well (“Cuomo’s LIPA Fail,” Editorial, Nov. 10).
The governor has been publicly critical of LIPA, which is of no real help to people in prolonged suffering.
His commiseration is not a tactic he can use to cover up the truth about something he could have fixed a year ago. The buck is sitting right at his desk.Phil Serpico
Queens
In order to provide cheap power, utility companies have been unable to charge appropriate rates to upgrade the existing power grid and critical substations and to bury more power lines underground.
I would gladly pay a one-time fee to bury my power lines and ensure more reliable delivery. This would not work unless all my neighbors agree to do the same.
Decades ago, elected officials attacked the Long Island Lighting Company as overpriced and inefficient. They promised in creating LIPA that it would be different and solve all our problems.
Having lived in Great Neck since the ’60s, I don’t recall LILCO’s being anywhere near as bad as today’s politicians claim LIPA is.
Too bad voters can’t get a rebate from the elected officials who have committed consumer fraud by selling us a false bill of goods.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
Isn’t it ironic that Democrats like Cuomo, who are always crying about the environment and about cutting down trees, are now the ones crying about not having enough poles to restore life-saving electricity to storm-ravaged New York? It boggles the mind.Dan Galvin
Port St. Lucie, Fla.
The massive blackout caused by Sandy is a wake-up call to LIPA to rebuild the antiquated grid system.
The blame game accomplishes nothing, as customers remain in the dark. LIPA’s increasing its rates to absorb the cost of Sandy’s recovery is predictable, as customers usually pay the cost.
Alas, after waking up, LIPA turned over and went back to sleep.
Robert Davniero
Lindenhurst
In the current system, no one has incentives to do anything with LIPA except to handle it like a time bomb, pushing off any and all action until it blows up.
It finally did blow up, and now it’s time to rehaul the ghost organization into a typical American utility.
The power industry is a monopoly and doesn’t work well, but LIPA is one of the most opaque and corrupt systems I have ever seen.
Customers keep LIPA in business, but they have no control. It’s like being a stockholder of a public company but being told you have absolutely no say in the company, cannot pick its board and cannot vote on its policies or procedures.
Please keep up the pressure on LIPA. Without the media, the public is powerless against it. We could elect to not pay our bills, but LIPA would just turn off our power.
Joseph Ruffini
Lindenhurst
LIPA and National Grid have refused to bury our power lines, citing cost and ease of repair.
The company has blighted our communities with its outdated technology of unsightly overhead utility lines.
Buried lines are cheaper and easier to repair. People with buried lines had power, while our timeframe to get power back was up to two to three weeks.
LIPA must produce a long-term plan to bury the lines now.
Laurann Pandelakis
Manhasset
Why doesn’t Cuomo cancel LIPA and sell the contract to a private firm like Con Edison?
If he did, where would politicians send their political hacks to roost and collect a fat salary and pension?
Seriously, all politicians care about is where their next paycheck is coming from and then where their friends’ paychecks come from.
Gone are the days when utilities were independent of the government. Now it’s all about who’s scratching whose back. Charlie Honadel
Staten Island