Sen. Fuschillo: State needs full authority over LIPA

State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick) has weighed in on a Newsday biz blog report that the Long Island Power Authority's customer dissatisfaction rate is rock bottom, nationwide, among public energy utilities.

“LIPA’s worst in the nation customer satisfaction rating among municipal utilities is yet another example of why we need greater oversight of LIPA,” Fuschillo said.

“These numbers just reinforce that LIPA has a trust problem with its ratepayers, who are sick and tired of paying some of the highest utility costs in the country.”

The state senator has already demanded “a full management and financial audit of LIPA conducted by an independent firm” under state agency review. The state Public Service Commission should get full regulatory authority over LIPA, “including the authority to approve all LIPA rate increase requests and examine LIPA’s financial practices," he says.

Responding to Fuschillo's views, LIPA spokesman Mark Gross said, "...Although LIPA is not afraid of additional oversight, this specific bill would negatively impact our customers significantly increasing costs by potentially tens of millions of dollars each year."

Fuschillo, however, said it's time for a change. "As these survey results show, ratepayers are sick and tired of the status quo. Given LIPA’s performance over the years, they have every right to be.”