Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) and Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (R,C,I-Atlantic Beach) are sponsoring legislation to strengthen the oversight capacity of the Long Island Office of the Public Service Commission and amplify ratepayer voices by the creation of an independent consumer utility advocate.

Ra and Miller find PSEG’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias to be woefully inadequate. On Thursday, Miller participated in a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly as a member of the Environmental Conservation Committee to examine “Power and Communication Failures from Tropical Storm Isaias.”

“Emergency responses need to be urgent and swift. When seniors are trapped in their homes without air conditioning and hundreds of thousands of people on Long Island look out their window and see dangerous debris and downed power lines days after a disaster, there’s a serious problem that needs to be solved,” said Ra. “Our bill is about making these massive energy companies accountable to hardworking ratepayers. It’s the right thing to do.”

“Long Island was ill-prepared to deal with the most recent tropical storm, Isaias, and this will be the first of many storms we face this season. I attended a public hearing yesterday that heard testimonies from the utility companies, local municipality officials and the Public Service Commission. We heard a lot about what went wrong and it is vital that the Long Island Office of the Public Service Commission is held to a higher standard,” said Assemblywoman Melissa “Missy” Miller (R,C,I-Atlantic Beach). “I’m proud to be joining forces with Assemblyman Ra on this bill to create greater accountability and oversight. Our families deserve better.”

Their legislation would build on the 2013 LIPA Reform Act, the bill which created the Long Island Office of the Public Service Commission in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. The legislators said that the response to Tropical Storm Isaias underscores myriad issues ratepayers have been facing for years.