LIPA's solution: use less, pay less

The Long Island Power Authority wants to charge its customers $924 million over the next 10 years for the nation's biggest energy efficiency program for a public utility.

[This Is Nonsense]

Let me get this bit of snake oil straight. I pay more now so LIPA can take that extra money and improve its efficiency which will benefit me down the road so I will then pay less. There are so many variables, unknowns and sheer assumptions operating in this formula that I doubt anyone can show how it will work in practice. In fact, this is just another LIPA surcharge that will be sucked into its gaping black hole of inherent inefficiency and bloated executive salaries.

[Sharon]

According to this months' bill, I used less energy yet, my bill was higher. The surcharges are more than the usage
portion of my bill. What a bunch of crock.

[Forrest Gump]

Anything that helps Long Islanders become more conservation minded is great. I just don't see how this plan in its current state will do that. It feels like LIPA rushed this plan to the street to make an Earth Day announcement, It needs more work to be successful and to get the required buy-in. Part of the problem may be that we now have an upper tier at LIPA with no energy experience, most from the government sector. The energy business is complex, it not just about reliability, rates and lights on. It must now be about planning for the future, hedging, new markets and availability. Using power points, pie charts and repeating catch phrases is not helping to build confidence. I think LIPA is trying to do the best they can, but in this time of spiraling prices, we need to feel that the leadership has the diverse and vast knowledge needed to make good decisions. ELI has merits; its execution is not there yet. This entire plan depends on the expertise of resources that LIPA must subcontract out to do the in home audits. There needs to be a financial component to provide stressed homeowners with a vehicle to buy those new energy efficient appliances and the improvements to their homes that will bring them the savings that the authors of ELI envision. Blowing insulation into walls, buying and installing new energy efficient windows and doors can run into tens of thousands of dollars. Without funding to offset these costs, only a relative few Long Island homeowners will be able to afford these changes. The same is true for commercial customers; revenues are stressed in all sectors. LIPA needs to bring the economic reality to ELI. We need to hear a commitment of a LIPA/Banking institution investment relationship – green loans at reduced rates. Nor have I heard an announcement of a relationship with a major appliance manufacturer or corporation such as Home Depot, Lowes or PC Richards to offer a jump start to ELI with a time sensitive or long-term appliance replacement strategy.

ELI feels far too much like spin without the structure to make it have the meat to stick on the bones. Mr. Law is a smart political appointee, he is making his boss, the Governor, look good with an announcement like this, but he has never run a business. To really make the Governor look great, this program has to reach its goals. It doesn’t help by having LIPA senior executives that are supposed to be masters of this effort sounding confused and lacking knowledge. We need to feel confident in our leaders and right now, LIPA has a long way to go to make us confident that they are managing our energy future with expertise.

When you think of it, our monthly energy costs at home rival or exceed the mortgage payments of our parents. This component in each of our lives has taken on a much greater relevance. LIPA is holding the bank on each of our energy mortgages – we need to be confident that we are getting the best rate on our investment, with the most innovative financing to keep us all whole.

[new yorker]

There are two factors that I can think of that doesn't appear anywhere, one is the population growth on the Island and in the country for that matter. Second is, the amount of "electronic gadgets", computer, dvd's and vcr's with clocks that are always on.

Simply solution, stop making everything electric and crub the amount of people coming in the country.

Less people, less electric use, less gas and less "everything electic" and finally less pollution!

I do laundry before 10:00am, put the wash on an outside line to dry, weather permitting, dishes after 10:00pm, use a manual toothbrush....and still my bills are high.

[long beach]

@ Forest - while i agree with your entire post, i'm not getting what you say about ELI not providing the proper incentives. in fact, incentives constitutes the vast majority of the program. LIPA charges all of its ratepayers nearly $1 billion over 10 years and turns the $ around as incentives for whoever wants to "opt into" the program and improve efficiencies in their home, biz, etc...

the whole idea is to defray some upfront costs to help people use less energy in the long run.

that said, people in this post are right, they've used less energy but their bills still grow. that's because almost all our energy on LI comes from oil and gas. until we start to make a serious shift toward renewables, that's not an equation we're going to be able to do much about.

[Former LI Resident]

Sounds like LIPA found another way to be corrupt and rape the public again. Thats why more people are moving off of LI

[pay up suckers]

newsday is always in favor of people paying more. taxes, fees, surcharges, anything. they have never met a goo-goo cause they didn't want funded. at the tax or rate payer expense of course. that's newsday!

[LIPA Suction]

Forrest Gump wrote:

Anything that helps Long Islanders become more conservation minded is great. I just don't see how this plan in its current state will do that.

This is nothing but political theatre and a cover-up of LIPA INCOMPETENCE.

[Enough]

Leave it to newsday to advocate another tax on long islanders, that is all this is another tax taking money out of our pockets and giving it to LIPA.

I do however plan on saving money based on this article, as I will no longer buy newsday. I have had enough of this left wing, protax, antitaxpayer paper.

[Truth Teller]

I can sum this entire article up in four words:

Bend over, Long Island

[vujade]

If you believe this malarkey will make you anything but poorer in the short, medium or long terms you must be a Newsday editorial writer!

[Newsday]

Well I never thought "OUR COUNRTY" would be ran by monoplies and oil companies I thought we had a GOVERNMENT not overpaid PUPPET ACTORS

[John]

More B.S.

[Bill]

I have a good idea. Lets build a neuclear power plant and yeild its clean and envirmentally friendly energy. What do you think Dick Kessel, Dick AMper, Ivr Like, Pat Halpin??

[Bill]

If newsday is for it. I am against it

[pgl]

LIPA which was formally LILCO is corrupt. The have been reaming Long Islanders for as long as I can remember.

[rise]

you've got to be kidding.we are all tired of being ripped off by lipa and keyspan

[ClaqClaqBangBang]

Always in the future. A future that only get's worse and worse. Pay now. Good bye long Island and Lipa it was not nice knowing you. You suck.

[Common Sense]

It's just the latest change in wording... Now it's "Pay me now AND pay me later!".... another scam being pulled on the taxpaying/rate paying publc! WHEN will WE THE PEOPLE tell these folks we've had enough? It's too late when the whole system comes apart!

[Mary]

Why use remote or smart meter reading like the SC water Dept does as it only saves the consumer money?