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Saturday, November 10, 2012

Long Island Power Authority: Maybe Some Dots Are Starting To Connect

This little bit of trivia from the WSJ this weekend: power authority takes heat for its response to Sandy. I did not know this -- the Long Island power authority is government owned:
As superstorm Sandy menaced the East Coast, officials at Long Island's biggest power company asked other utilities to lend it 700 workers to help get the electricity flowing again. But the utility says it has needed 10,000 extra workers to handle the job, many of which it got only after line crews finished work for other electric companies.
This miscalculation by LIPA was only the latest problem at the Long Island Power Authority, the government-owned utility that covers some of New York City's most densely packed suburbs. Many of the utility's failures stem from long-standing issues that have been detailed for years in reports commissioned by many levels of government, including the agency itself.
Wow, two things jump out at me:
a) government owned
b) disaster response: thought they only needed 700 additional workers; turns out 10,000 extra workers; still without power; local authorities want military to come in to help restore power
It was predicted for days in advance that this would be the biggest storm ever to hit New Jersey/New York -- in fact, it was called "Frankenstorm." Will heads roll? 

The utility has 20 years to prepare for this storm, as predicted by Al Gore as far back as 1992.

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