New York State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF-Sag Harbor), an opponent of the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) legislation approved earlier this year, today stated that recent decisions by LIPA demonstrate that “the new LIPA is no different than the old LIPA”.

In the last two weeks, LIPA has announced (1) a $26 million cut in renewable and efficiency programs for 2014, including a reduction from $30 million to $11.1 million for solar panel rebates, and (2) that LIPA will end next year with one of its highest debt levels in its history ($7.76 billion) compared with $6.83 billion at the end of this year.

Thiele, who voted “no” on the legislation and debated against it on the Assembly floor, stated, “The greatest flaws of LIPA have been (1) a lack of transparency and oversight and (2) utilizing future debt to keep current rates stable. Nothing has changed. A lot of promises were made about rate freezes, increased oversight, and alternative energy, to get State legislators to support the plan but nothing that could be enforced. Some of the new debt will be on the books until 2044. Who was there to protect the ratepayers? The increase in debt will mean higher rates in the future. The cuts in green energy will mean a continued over-reliance on costly fossil fuels. Long Islanders still have no control over their energy future. Instead, those decisions will be made in Albany and New Jersey.”