The Long Island Power Authority has been the target of many angry comments and rants over the past few weeks, from the average Joe consumer all the way up to Gov. Andrew Cuomo – many have lost their patience with the company.
Before Hurricane Sandy hit on October 29th, LIPA reminded Long Islanders it had prepared for Tropical Storm Irene the year before, which still rendered a portion of the island without power for many days, if not weeks.
One day after the storm hit, LIPA officials noted it could take 7 to 10 days to restore power. Before long, though, the estimates grew in many areas – some going to three weeks and even a few estimates of "around Thanksgiving."
On top of the growing frustration were a cooling air mass and a snowy nor'easter that struck a week after Sandy, leaving the powerless even colder and more miserable.
Gov. Cuomo, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone and other government officials promised to hold LIPA's executives – not the hard-working linesman and out-of-state workers – accountable for what they said was a poor post-storm performance by the utility. Bellone even took a unprecendeted move in controlling substations to get workers where they needed to be, skipping over LIPA's management.
Before these government officials had a chance to take too many other actions on LIPA, its chief operating officer Michael Hervey resigned.
What should be done to change or fix LIPA? Is it just executives that need to go? Is the system in need of an overhaul or just a new chain of command?
Let us know what you would do in the comments section below!
