Public Power: LIPA’s First Woman Leader Talks Energy

Carrie Meek Gallagher, the Long Island Power Authority’s new chief — and the first woman to lead the utility — doesn’t watch the weather quite like most of us. She talks about June 24, a hot and humid day, as a day to remember, even if most Long Islanders won’t, and she is happy about that.

It was the day with the most energy demand in the Long Island Power Authority’s territory since 2013 that proved just another day in the life of Long Island.

“Part of the reason we were able to survive that heat dome without any problems, without having brownouts, was because of careful planning, including the adoption of solar and behind-the-meter storage,” said Gallagher, who took over as LIPA’s new CEO a few weeks later, on July 7. “The incredible work that takes place behind the scenes every day helped to reduce peak load and meet the demand. That made a huge difference in our being able to get through without any glitches. That’s reliability, resiliency, and affordability.”

Most people couldn’t tell you the difference between a kilowatt and a megawatt (power plants generate megawatts); Gallagher has more than 25 years of experience in public service, energy regulation, and environmental policy, as a utility regulator and executive.

“I understand the policy, the operations, and regulations,” she said just short of two months after taking the helm. “That’s extremely helpful in coming to LIPA. We’re dealing with all of these issues.”

Gallagher arrives as LIPA faces pressing issues and long-term decisions as Long Island’s utility charts a course for the future, balancing electricity, environment, and affordability.

Over the next few months, the authority will have to craft a contract extension with PSEG Long Island and navigate peak hurricane season. She’s also working to develop a flat budget, manage performance metrics, and plan the future of power supply and generation, including sources of power.

“Think about it as having a diverse portfolio for your power supply,” Gallagher said. “You want all the tools in your tool kit.”

LIPA, which outsources day-to-day operations to PSEG-Long Island, has to manage contracts with service providers and measure performance.

“We are trying to improve even how we implement those metrics and design them each year,” she said. “There is a floor of performance and stretch metrics. We want to incentivize the right things.”

LEADING LIPA

Just as humans survive on food, the economy survives on fuel, which, in large part, means electricity, making LIPA crucial for the economy and the region.

Gallagher arrives with an unprecedented background, most recently serving as Director of the Long Island Office for the New York State Department of Public Service, overseeing LIPA and other utilities.

“My background is deeply rooted in public service,” she said. “Almost 25 years, working in environmental protection, energy policy and regulation, utility regulation.”

She worked at the Suffolk County Water Authority, as well as for the state Department of Environmental Conservation and in the governor’s office as Deputy Secretary of Energy and Environment.

Tracey Edwards, Chair of the LIPA Board of Trustees, called her “a seasoned utility executive with deep Long Island roots and a proven ability to lead complex organizations.”

Pat Guidice, Business Manager of IBEW Local 1049, said she “brings essential experience from the Department of Public Service.”

Kevin Law, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Empire State Development and former LIPA Chairman and CEO, said, “Every position she has held has prepared her well to become the next CEO of LIPA.”

Bob Catell, Former KeySpan CEO and Chair of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, said, “Her background in utility regulation and energy policy, along with her commitment to public service, gives her a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Long Island’s energy future.”

TAKING THE HELM

In addition to utility experience, she knows and has long lived on Long Island.

“I’m a Long Islander,” Gallagher said. “I grew up here, raised my family here. My commitment to LIPA and ratepayers is not only professional. It’s deeply personal.”

She sees Long Islanders as neighbors and wants to play a role in making life better in the region with a “reliable, affordable and increasingly clean electric grid.”

She sees LIPA’s energy efficiency as helping residents and businesses save by lowering use as well as offering incentives.

A community advisory board is starting a sub-committee focusing on how to help low to moderate-income households.

“Affordability is a challenge folks face,” she said.

Her house is powered by solar energy, including battery storage through two Tesla Powerwalls, providing battery backup.

“I’m living all of this,” she said. “I’m not just talking about it hypothetically.”

She uses batteries to provide solar storage, so solar energy she generates is available when she needs it.

TEAMWORK

Gallagher said LIPA has to ensure that PSEG-Long Island is “delivering on reliable, affordable, clean electricity for the ratepayer.”

“We need to be hands-on in managing our service providers,” she said. “We also have to hold ourselves accountable.

Based in Uniondale, LIPA is working with PSEG Long Island to finalize contract terms in the best interest of ratepayers before the contract expires at year’s end.

“The length of the extension is one term being debated or negotiated,” she said.

LIPA is a state authority and public utility (or overseer) that owns the power grid, while contracting for daily operations.

It oversees power for 3.3 million residents in the Rockaways, Nassau, and Suffolk, or roughly 1.2 million accounts, including 900,000 residential and 300,000 businesses.

“Not only do customers want the lights to go on,” she said. “They want to know we’re making smart investments with dollars.”

Unlike traditional investor-owned utilities, LIPA does not have shareholders.

“Any time we save money, we can pass that on to the ratepayer,” she said.

They can’t control power supply charges based on oil and natural gas costs, she said, but they can impact delivery.

“We’re trying our best to keep rates flat,” she said. “We’re fine-tuning our budget and asking PSEG Long Island to do the same to keep rates flat.”

LONG ISLAND AUTHORITY

Gallagher’s Uniondale office is filled with family photos, children’s artwork, and artistic photographs. But the first thing a visitor sees is a Native American blessing to land and animals hanging on her door.

“I like that, because to me it represents that we’re all in this together,” she said. “The universe of energy and environment, we’re all on this together. We all need to be respectful and work together.”

As LIPA chief, she deals with electricity, economy, and environment, or utility, affordability, and sustainability, a delicate balancing act.

“When it comes to running a utility, customers want their lights to go on,” she said. “They want their lights to work. They expect reliability. We’re doubling down on reliability.”

She said LIPA has been investing about $1 billion a year, or $9.4 billion, for nearly a decade, including $2.4 billion from FEMA, to improve infrastructure and ensure reliability and resiliency.

That includes 30,000 stronger utility poles, 1,400 miles of distribution circuit upgrades, and 1,500 smart switches that “self-heal” after minor incidents such as fallen tree limbs.

“With smart switches, it can react and resume,” she said. “We’re trying to learn from best practices in the industry and in the United States.”

THE TIME OF DAY

LIPA is unveiling a program designed to lower the peak load, charging more during peak hours from 3-7 p.m. and less at other times.

“We’re implementing time-of-day rates on Long Island, transitioning all households by the end of the year,” she said. “If people reduce their electricity usage from 3-7 p.m., that helps us. If they use electricity outside of that period, rates will be cheaper.”

While it’s important to understand the technical side of a utility, she knows how to communicate simply.

“Think of it as the rush hour of the electricity highway,” Gallagher said. “If you can shift usage, we save money and pass that saving back on to ratepayers.”

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