RALLY: Senator Thomas: Secure Your Legacy, Pass the LIPA Public Power Act!
Join our rally on Tuesday, April 30th at 12pm outside his district office to deliver that message, along with a packet of materials demonstrating the widespread support for the LIPA Public Power Act.
PSEG is not our electric utility.
LIPA owns all the electric assets In Nassau, Suffolk, and the Rockaways. As a nonprofit public authority, the public (us) owns the grid. LIPA contracts with PSEG to RUN it. This contract costs LIPA ratepayers $80M/year.
The LIPA Public Power Act would make our electric utility fully public. It would run the grid itself, resulting in millions in annual savings on management costs, lower rates, increased reliability, greater public involvement and accountability, and a utility better equipped to meet the mandates of New York's climate law. The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) Legislative Commission has drafted this act, and it has been introduced to the Assembly by AM Thiele.
However, it's been over four months and Senator Thomas has still not introduced it to the Senate. This despite the Senator being Co-Chair of the LIPA Commission that developed the legislation; the hundreds of constituents who have weighed in with their support; and the 100+ organizations who are backing this effort.
A recent state report found that PSEG-LI, the contractor that runs the grid for LIPA, is
- unprepared for the next storm,
- underperforming on customer service,
- performing poorly on project management leading to higher rates, and
- is not capable of meeting New York's climate goals.
As the Chairman of the Committee on Consumer Protection, it's disappointing that Senator Thomas has failed to move on this. We need him to introduce and champion the LIPA Public Power Act to deliver for the ratepayers in LIPA territory so they can save money, have more community oversight, and be better prepared for the impacts of climate change.
Click here for details and to RSVP.
We have a brand new toolkit for you to use to support the LIPA Public Power Act! Although not yet introduced, it is important to start supporting this bill.
Our goal is to pass this legislation in early 2024. Your representatives need to hear from you over the objections of for-profit utilities. Please help us by emailing your state representatives to tell them you want to end the failed public-private partnership with PSEG and have LIPA to run the grid itself.
From Montauk to the Rockaways, PSEG LI is failing our communities. It is unreliable and untrustworthy. It provides poor service as it shuts off electricity for our most vulnerable community members, all while raking in huge corporate profits.
But we have good news! Because of the work of our Reimagine LIPA campaign, a New York State Commission has created legislation, the LIPA Public Power Act, to fire PSEG LI and put control of our electric system in the community's hands.
Will you use and promote this outreach toolkit? With it, you can email your reps, call the Governor, post on social media, and more. Together, we can make sure our state electeds and Governor Hochul know this is a priority for our region.
Long Island and the Rockaways will do better with regional management of LIPA, where our communities make decisions, instead of being on the receiving end of bad decisions from unaccountable PSEG LI managers. This switch will mean huge annual savings, lower rates, and greater public involvement and accountability.