Mujib Lodhi named LIPA operating chief, Senate appoints 2 trustees

The Long Island Power Authority has named a second-in-command with the promotion of Mujib Lodhi to chief operating officer, while the State Senate has appointed two new members to the LIPA board as the state authority takes steps toward becoming a fully public utility.

LIPA on Wednesday confirmed to Newsday that Lodhi, who had been chief information officer and senior vice president of customer experience, received the promotion in recent weeks

Lodhi has been one of the more visible LIPA officials in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Isaias, when PSEG Long Island computer and communication systems experienced breakdowns and more than 500,000 customers lost power, some for up to a week. LIPA formed a task force to look into the issues and required PSEG to upgrade systems and performance in the aftermath.

A new PSEG contract also put half the company’s annual $80 million compensation at risk based on performance.

In the interim, a state legislative committee has begun marking out a course for LIPA to a fully public utility, ending the public-private arrangement that has kept PSEG in place since 2014. PSEG’s contract ends in 2025, and the legislative committee could propose legislation to facilitate the fully public model this spring. A draft of the report on that plan is due in coming weeks.

Lodhi joined LIPA in 2018 and previously worked at utilities including the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, DC Water and Riverside Public Utilities. Lodhi’s annual salary increases to a top-level $355,000 from $339,750 in 2022. Newsday last year reported that Lodhi maintains a home in Fairfax, Va. LIPA said he has an apartment on Long Island, but declined to say where.

In his new position, Lodhi maintains his chief information officer and customer experience roles, along with prior duties managing PSEG service metrics, clean-energy programs and enterprise program management, LIPA said. He reports to LIPA chief Tom Falcone.

LIPA said Lodhi’s duties include developing and executing its corporate strategy and work plans, and business process optimization processes.

The chief operating officer role had been vacant since 2013, when John McMahon became chief executive. He resigned two years later.

LIPA is also expected to welcome two new trustees to its nine-member board. Dominick Macchia, international representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and treasurer of the Long Island Federation of Labor, will replace trustee Ali Mohammed, a Senate appointee.

Also new is Mili Makhijani, principle law clerk for Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Randy Sue Marber. Makhijani was previously an associate in the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington, and will replace trustee Drew Biondo.

All but two LIPA trustees who remain on LIPA’s nine-member board have expired terms, and all of those are appointees of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.