* § 83-n. Legislative commission on the future of the Long Island\nPower Authority. 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that\nchapter 517 of the laws of 1986 created the Long Island Power Authority\n(LIPA). Said authority was created, in part, because the decisions by\nLILCO, the private utility that provided electricity to Long Island and\npart of Queens, "to commence construction of the Shoreham nuclear power\nplant and thereafter to continue such construction were imprudent".\nFurther, the legislature found in chapter 517 of the laws of 1986 that\n"a situation threatening the economy, health and safety exists in the\nservice area". One of the two express purposes of the act was the\nclosure of the Shoreham nuclear power plant. In 1992, LIPA bought the\nShoreham nuclear power plant. The plant was fully decommissioned in\n1994.\n The second purpose of such chapter 517 was to replace LILCO with a\npublicly owned power authority. The legislature found that "There is a\nlack of confidence that the needs of the residents and of commerce and\nindustry in the service area for electricity can be supplied in a\nreliable, efficient and economic manner by the Long Island lighting\ncompany (hereinafter referred to as "LILCO")" and "Such matters of state\nconcern best can be dealt with by replacing such investor owned utility\nwith a publicly owned power authority."\n In 1995, LIPA replaced LILCO as the electric company for its service\narea. However, LIPA was never established as a true "publicly owned\npower authority" as originally envisioned by the State Legislature.\nRather, since 1995, LIPA has opted for a third-party management model\nwhereby LIPA contracts its responsibility to manage the utility to a\nprivate, investor owned utility company.\n LIPA is the only utility in the nation that is operated under a\nthird-party management model. This model has repeatedly failed its\ncustomers. There has been a lack of transparency, oversight, and\naccountability. This failure has been most dramatically evidenced in the\nunacceptable storm response by LIPA and its third-party contractors\nduring Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020.\n After more than 25 years of unsatisfactory management under the\nthird-party management model, a better alternative must be implemented.\nThat inquiry must begin with the original intent of chapter 517 of the\nlaws of 1986, whereby LIPA was to directly manage and operate the\nutility as a true public power utility. Initial investigations by LIPA\nafter Tropical Storm Isaias in 2020-2021 indicate that both ratepayer\nsavings and increased management efficiencies could be achieved through\nthe public power model.\n Consequently, it is the purpose of this section to implement the\noriginal vision for LIPA intended by chapter 517 of the laws of 1986, as\na publicly owned power company. The legislature hereby creates a\ncommission to provide the legislature with the specific actions,\nlegislation, and timeline necessary to restructure LIPA into a true\npublicly owned power authority. The public must participate in that\nprocess so that the new LIPA becomes transparent with proper oversight\nand accountability. The legislative commission shall submit its final\nreport to the legislature no later than November thirtieth, two thousand\ntwenty-three.\n 2. A legislative commission is hereby established to investigate and\nreport to the legislature on the establishment of a public power model\nfor the operation of LIPA, whereby the authority would directly operate\nthe utility as a true public power authority. The commission shall\nreport to the legislature on the specific actions, legislation, and\ntimeline necessary to restructure LIPA into a true publicly owned power\nauthority. The commission shall consider: (a) the method of governance\nof the public authority; (b) improved transparency, accountability, and\npublic involvement; (c) improved reliability of the system; (d) the\ni
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