Cuomo pushes for abolition of LIPA

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Superstorm Sandy has given Governor Cuomo a launching pad to be prepared for the next big storm.

His main plank is replacing LIPA, the Long Island Power Authority, with a private company. So how would that work out?

"Good riddance! See you later!" said Joe Trupia, a Long Island resident.

Long Islanders Eyewitness News spoke with said it couldn't happen soon enough: the abolition of the Long Island Power Authority.

"It's never worked, period! New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

In his annual address, Governor Andrew Cuomo said the power authority has failed Long Islanders.

Wednesday, he urged state lawmakers to abolish LIPA and sell-off the island's massive power grid, while urging them to strengthen the state's Public Service Commission with greater regulatory and enforcement powers.

Superstorm Sandy left more than one million homes and businesses without electricity on Long Island. Many of them were without power for two weeks and even longer.

A state commission had recommended the abolition of LIPA insisting it was dysfunctional.

Long Islanders, still recovering from the storm, said it's a good idea.

"The bottom line is, everybody's worried, not going to be happy," said Skip Erickson, a Huntington resident.

Privatizing LIPA is easier said than done. It's already $7 billion in debt and any buyer will drive a hard bargain.

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