Hochul orders the audit of wages in public services, but will not include Lipa, Pseg Li

The State Public Service Commission approved on Thursday the application of Governor Kathy Hochul from a broad audit of non -union wages in public services throughout the state, but the audit will not include Lipa or PSEG Long Island, confirmed the authorities .

Hochul in an unusual movement on Tuesday requested the audit after Edison requested an increase in rates that would increase the electrical invoices of New York City customers by 11.4% and their gas bills at 13.3 %. He called the excessive request and said he had ordered the PSC to lower it.

“The cost of living is too high and New Yorkers need more money in their pockets,” he said Tuesday.

Hochul has made the improvement of affordability a priority after the Republicans began with voters in the last three electoral cycles. Republicans were running in a mantra that the Democrats have made life in New York inaccessible for families through high tax and expensive progressive programs.

But Hochul’s demand will not include a similar audit of the salaries of the Power Authority of Long Island, or those of its contractor, PSEG Long Island. Lipe salaries are already public, and the salaries of the nine PSEG officials in Long Island are public after the approval of a law specifically aimed at the prior reticence of PSEG to release them, legislators said at that time.

But the PSC is giving a pass to Lipa for other reasons.

PSC spokesman James Denn explained that the audit will not include Lipa or PSEG because the State Public Service Department “has audited PSEG and Lipe separately, and on an annual basis review the compensation of incentives paid to PSEG LI performance metrics “.

While the Five -year management audit Examine certain compensation elements, it is mainly an examination of the “governance management, programs and projects, system planning, operations and communications” of the public services company.

Denn said that Hochul’s management compensation audit “will focus on public services owned by investors.”

Denn said that the new audit would include a review of salaries in National Grid, which operates the natural gas system and energy plants in Long Island, although he indicated that the data would inform the requests of future rates, not the recovery funds and approved by PSC.

The audit “will analyze the main public service companies, including National Grid (Long Island), on an advanced basis,” he wrote in an email. “The information collected will be used to inform cases of future rates, not cases of past rates.”

Lipe and PSEG are technically not under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission, but rather under the supervision of “Review and Recommendation” of DPS. This distinction occurred as a result of the LIPA Reform Law of former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of 2013.

“Lipa is not subject to the audit of the commission,” said Lipa spokeswoman Jen Hayen. “The governance process and the fixation of Lipa rates are supervised by a public board of trustees.” The five appointed of Hochul at the Lipa Board include the president, Tracey Edwards.

While bidding as a result of the law is subject to an exhaustive five -year administration audit for DPS, the utility has not suffered a complete rate review since 2015. That is because Lipa has maintained the portion of delivery loading of delivery of delivery Customer bills below 2.5% since then, despite the fact that other elements of customer invoices have increased (already fallen) in the interim.

The Lipa Board in December approved an average increase in the rate of $ 7 per month by 2025, largely linked to increases for the service in its debt of approximately $ 11 billion. That follows an average increase of $ 30 per month approved in the previous year.

Separately, in August, the state PSC approved the National Grid application of an increase in three -year -old fees that increased invoices from $ 33 per month from last September, Newsday reported.

State figures show that Lipa and National Grid clients are fighting like many others throughout the State to pay public service invoices.

For PSEG Long Island, there were 115,650 residential clients that reached more than 60 days late when paying their electricity bills in December, with a backward amount that exceeded $ 77 million, according to state figures compiled by AARP. The figures are slightly low of 2023, when 120,317 arrived more than 60 days late paying their bills for a total of arrears that month of $ 80.1 million.

PSEG this December issued 9,205 final termination notices for lack of payment, compared to 9,219 notices a year ago.

For National Grid on Long Island, there were 47,460 residential customers more than 60 days late paying their bill in December, compared to 48,560 a year ago. The amount in December totaled $ 37 million, compared to $ 35.9 million for December 2023.

The National Network in December issued 11,523 final termination notices for lack of payment, compared to 16,433 one year, according to state figures.

The main nine officials of PSE Long Island release their salaries annually to the DPS, after the approval of a 2017 state law that resulted from the frustration of Long Island legislators due to the previous lack of salary dissemination of PSEG.

In the most recent presentation, by 2023, the interim president and director of Operations Dave Lyons received $ 779,729 in total compensation, including $ 285,819 in salary, $ 120,500 in bonus and $ 234,539 in another compensation. Gregory Filipkowski, managing director and information director, received $ 691,532 in total compensation, including $ 335,500 in salary and $ 168,400 in bonus, and $ 163,081 in another compensation.

Paul Napoli, managing director and vice president of energy markets, received $ 685,917 in total salary, including $ 274,243 in salary, $ 131,500 in bonus and $ 142,731 in another compensation. The senior director and vice president of External Affairs, Christopher Hahn received $ 466,762 in total compensation, including $ 255,480 in salary, $ 93,000 in bonus and $ 80,572 in another compensation.

All salaries of Lipa employees are public, including $ 365,000 for the interim executive director of Lipa, John Rhodes. In 2023, LIPA’s higher officials were the director of Operations Mujib Lodhi at $ 389,798; Former CEO Tom Falcone at $ 384,983, and Senior Vice President Billy Raley at $ 361,178. The general counselor of Lipa, Barbara Jean O’Connor, won $ 355.11 and main advisor for the supervision Kenneth Kane won $ 308,625, according to the Seethrourghny.net database of the Empire Center.

PSEG has hundreds of intermediate managers who are not in the Union and not among the ranks of the nine senior officials whose salary is disclosed annually. PSEG does not reveal the payment of intermediate managers, nor is some 2,000 salaries of unionized workers reveal.

With Michael Gormley.