New York Assembly Members Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D WF-Sag Harbor) and Dean Murray (R, C, I-East Patchogue) today introduced anti conflict-of-interest legislation that prohibits PSEG-LI, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based utility PSEG, from performing any power management services or electric resource planning for Long Island as long as PSEG continues to sell electricity into the Long Island market and PSEG-owned plants continue to compete with existing and proposed generation plants on Long Island, Assembly bill A.10683.

“Financial self-interest must not be allowed to cloud crucial decisions about meeting the energy needs of Long Island residents and businesses,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “It is critical that the responsibilities and functions of LIPA’s service provider be carried out in an impartial manner so that ratepayers get the affordable, reliable electricity they deserve.”

Long Island imports approximately a minimum of 45 percent of its electricity, including from PSEG-owned plants in New Jersey and Connecticut. In its 2015 Form 10-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, PSEG stated that: “New additions of lower-cost or more efficient generation capacity could make our plants less economic in the future. Although it is not clear if this capacity will be built or, if so, what the economic impact will be, such additions would impact market prices and our competitiveness.”

“I am proud to support legislation that protects ratepayers and holds accountable PSEG-LI for putting its bottom line ahead of the interests of Long Island families,” said Assemblyman Murray. “PSEG has publicly admitted that new cost-effective and efficient power plants would impact the market prices and competitiveness of their own generating plants. With little regard for transparency, PSEG-LI has let its bias taint the Integrated Resource Plan process to determine long-term electric resource planning for the region. This bill aims to put an end to such prejudice against efforts to boost on-Island generation.”

On top of operating and maintaining a service area that provides electricity to approximately 1 million residential and commercial ratepayers, PSEG-LI is in charge of resource planning and procurement – responsibilities it assumed from LIPA. In November 2015, PSEG-LI determined that Long Island did not require new power generation until 2028, and halted the development of on-Island energy projects that would modernize the region’s aging power infrastructure and create hundreds of jobs for Long Island’s middle-class families.

Read the legislation here: http://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A10683&term=2015&Text=Y