EDITORIAL: New Leader for LIPA: Law is a Good Choice, but Wearing Two Hats May Raise Conflicts of Interest

By Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Jan. 25–There is a new source of power at the Long Island Power Authority. Moving quickly to take control of a state agency whose high electric bills have been a major source of local outrage, Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced yesterday he will name Suffolk County official Kevin Law as its new chairman and successor to Richard Kessel. Law, who is expected to take full control as chief executive officer later this year, is a fine choice.

An attorney experienced with energy projects and environmental law, he should be able to keep Long Island juiced. And Law, who is now a top deputy to County Executive Steve Levy, understands how LIPA is hardwired into local politics and what needs to be done to lower its profile.

Unfortunately, Spitzer is making this takeover messier than it ought to be. The governor plans to allow Law to remain as Levy’s deputy until he becomes CEO, so Law can keep the county humming while Levy runs for re-election. But isn’t setting a reform agenda for LIPA a full-time job? Law, whose LIPA chairman post is unsalaried, has deft skills and an unblemished reputation for integrity. While he promises to recuse himself when there are conflicts, he may well find that wearing two hats will give him a headache.

Levy is a sharp critic of LIPA and Suffolk has a lawsuit pending against it over financial liability for the Shoreham nuclear power plant. There also is the red-hot issue of where to locate a pipeline to bring natural gas to the proposed Caithness Energy power plant; the initial plan to extend a pipeline from Commack to Yaphank was so unpopular that Kessel dumped it.

And the controversial Broadwater Energy proposal for a liquid natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound could pose another problem. Kessel has yet to release LIPA’s evaluation of the project, which Levy opposes.

Kessel was the right choice back in 1997 to take charge of the newly recreated public authority, which sprang from the remnants of the despised Long Island Lighting Co. His political and public relations skills were what was required then. Kessel kept the lights on, but his struggle to provide enough power to meet demand and LIPA’s lack of transparency in setting rates raised questions about whether a return to private ownership would be better. It was time for a change.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Newsday, Melville, N.Y.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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