Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces LIPA proposal on Monday, May 13.

The Long Island Power Authority could be hit with a severe power downgrade if New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets his way.

The governor laid out a proposal Monday that would shift the embattled utility company’s day-to-day operation to PSEG, the New Jersey-based company slated to replace National Grid next year, and would freeze rates for three years, slash LIPA’s staff considerably and reduce LIPA’s debt load.

Essentially, LIPA would become a holding company, but would remain under government ownership for tax purposes and to ensure reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the governor said.

“Simply put, LIPA is broken,” Cuomo said at the afternoon briefing.

The governor’s long-awaited announcement regarding the utility’s future comes more than six months after Superstorm Sandy pummeled LI, knocking out power to more than 90 percent of the 1.1 million homes and business that LIPA serves. LIPA came under intense pressure amid the storm’s aftermath from local and state officials, including Cuomo, who at his state-of-the-state address in January said “the time has come to abolish LIPA. Period.”

The governor didn’t go that far Monday, nor did he call for LIPA to be privatized, which he suggested early on after the Oct. 29 storm. But he made clear that the utility’s power would be diminished considerably.

“I think the storm was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Cuomo said, joined in Albany with Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “It is the status quo and it has failed.”

Cuomo is seeking to privatize much of the utility’s operation by transferring duties to PSEG come January, improve customer service during storm response and stabilize rates—partly by instituting a rate freeze through 2015. He’s also calling for more government oversight of the utility.

“Getting rates down is essential,” Cuomo said, “getting the cost of power down is essential.”

He decided against privatizing the LIPA altogether, noting that doing so could endanger future reimbursement from FEMA. Sandy aid has already been allocated to cover the cost of raising or relocating LIPA’s power lines so property owners don’t have to foot the bill as they continue construction of their storm-ravaged homes.

The proposal would also impact LIPA’s staff, cutting it from 90 to 20, the governor said, and would slash the number of board members from 15 to five.

Cuomo is looking to push the proposal through this legislative session, which ends at the end of June. The top leaders in the state Senate and Assembly gave no indication that they would pass the bill through their respective chambers.

Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), co-leader of the state Senate, said he “will closely review this plan,” and added that officials are moving the in “right direction.”

“I think this is a thoughtful plan that has many great ideas,” said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan). “It’s an important step in the right direction.”

Both Mangano and Bellone accepted the governor’s recommendations.

“I think we have a critical moment to be responsive to this issue,” Cuomo said.“There is no alternative because the status quo is dangerous for Long Island.”

Glen Cove resident clearing snow after blizzard pounds Long Island. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

More than half of the 40,000 Long Island Power Authority customers who lost power due to the winter storm had their electricity restored early Saturday afternoon, officials said.

National Grid, which took over storm response from LIPA, said Saturday that as of 1 p.m. 29,000 ratepayers had their power restored and 94 percent of those restored were back in line within four hours of going in the dark.

As of 2:30 p.m. there were still 9,000 homes and businesses without power, LIPA reported on its website. National Grid said those customers should expect to have their power back within 24 hours, an estimate that the utility made Friday as they were prepping crews for the storm.

The large amount of snowfall—up to 30 inches on the Island—has made some roadways impassable, the utility said. Some crews won’t be able to access certain job sites until the roads are cleared and deemed safe.

“National Grid continues to coordinate with town, county, and state officials and remains ready to assign repair crews to any inaccessible outages as soon as roadways have been cleared and access is available,” National Grid said.

But the utility warned that outages are still possible because heavy snow on trees are capable of downing wires and damaging electrical facilities.

“Our pre-planning has us well positioned to respond to any additional outages and we will continue to monitor any changing conditions and openly communicate our progress,” National Grid said.

The electric grid fared well during the storm, the utility noted, and outages came in far below the estimate of 100,000 customers losing power that National Grid predicted Friday.

Cars covered in Locust Valley after Blizzard rolls through Long Island. (Photo credit: Michael Damm)

Long Islanders woke up Saturday to a mound of snow on their front yards, their cars swallowed by a white blanket and streets barely drivable as a powerful Nor’easter swooped in and dropped up to 30 inches of snow on the Island.

While many residents will have hours of shoveling ahead after the blizzard, most will be able to fire up some hot chocolate and huddle up next to their television screens because while this massive storm packed a punch, it didn’t come close to National Grid’s estimate of 100,000 customers losing power. In fact, as of 9 a.m., the total was a little less than 11,000 people in the dark.

But the storm was dangerous.

All major highways in Suffolk County had to be shut down to all non-emergency vehicles, including the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, Southern State, Northern State, Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow, Robert Moses Causeway, and Ocean Parkway.

There have been reports of abandoned vehicles throughout Suffolk County, making it difficult for emergency crews to plow roads and make roads passable.

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A blizzard warning remains in effect in Suffolk County until noon Saturday.

The blizzard—dubbed Nemo by The Weather Channel—dealt a blow to public transportation as well, forcing the Long Island Rail Road to suspend service on five of its branches—Far Rockaway, Hempstead, Long Beach, Montauk and Oyster Bay—and limiting service on all others.

Those traveling by air also saw flight cancellations across all New York airports Friday evening. Flights at Islip’s Long Island MacArthur Airport are not scheduled to resume until 6:15 p.m. Saturday.

It was apparent Saturday morning that Suffolk County took the brunt of the storm.

The Nor’easter walloped communities from Lindenhurst to Upton, blasting at least 15 areas with more than 20 inches of snow. The National Weather Service reported that Upton saw 30.3 inches. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

Accumulation in Nassau barely reached the one-foot mark, the weather service reported. Bayville, Wantagh and Albertson were hit with more than 11 inches, while people in Seaford, New Hyde Park and Carle Place are likely mocking the storm as a bust after less than four inches fell on them. (UPDATED SNOWFALL TOTALS)

The storm also spawned whipping winds that contributed to outages and sent snow sideways making it difficult to walk at times. Strong winds—gusts were measured at more than 40 mph throughout the Island—also contributed to whiteout conditions making driving nearly impossible Friday evening.

Traffic was at a snail-like place and drivers reported excruciating travel times across all major roadways. On the Northern State Parkway Friday night, traffic was moving so slow that drivers were cleaning off their cars as they drove because snow was building up quickly. Some had to pull over under an overpass to move heavy snow off their cars.

The powerful storm forced New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to declare state of emergencies in Nassau and Suffolk Counties Friday night.

Many of the outages are in the Town of Brookhaven, LIPA reported on its website, with more than 4,000 residents without power.

Two towns—Babylon and Islip—reported less than 100 customers without power.

Police and other local officials are urging drivers to stay off the roadways so crews can plow through the heavy snow. Drivers in Suffolk are told to use other roads since all major highways in the county are closed. It’s not yet clear when the highways will reopen.

LIPA crews during Superstorm Sandy

In National Gird’s first public remarks since taking over communication and storm restoration duties from LIPA, one of the utility’s top officials said most outages from Friday’s Nor’easter should be restored within 24 hours.

John Bruckner, president of Long Island Transmission and Distribution for National Grid, said he estimates more than 100,000 Long Island Power Authority customers to lose power during the winter storm, which is expected to create Blizzard-like conditions that will pound the Island with more than one foot of snow.

National Grid has secured more than 100 tree trimmers, 700 high-voltage lineman and 250 tree trimmers. In total, the utility said it has more than 5,000 people working on the storm.

Bruckner, who led the press conference in Bethpage with LIPA Chief Operating Officer Michael Taunton at his side, said customers who report outages should have power restored within 24 hours. Essentially, he said, if customers lose power Saturday morning they should expect it to return the next day.

Crews, Bruckner said, will hit communities with the largest amount of outages first and then work its way down.

National Grid announced Thursday that LIPA, the embattled utility that received strong criticism for its response to Superstorm Sandy three months ago, would not handle communications and response duties during the winter storm.

Despite the rare shift, Taunton maintained that LIPA will still be assisting restoration efforts.

“Our role here is no different in respect to any other storm,” he said, adding that LIPA will continue to provide oversight and resources that are necessary to assist National Grid, LIPA’s outgoing contractor.

Beginning next year, National Grid, which runs LIPA’s electric grid, will be replaced by Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG).

Bruckner addressed National Grid’s motivation to quickly restore power despite its impending departure by noting that its gas company will continue to serve Long Island long after it gives up the electric grid.

Bruckner said he’s confident that National Grid will be able to restore power quickly because it has secured all resources before the storm hit, apparently something LIPA was unable to do before Sandy struck despite advanced warning.

The utility’s biggest concern is the wind, which can caused downed trees and power lines.

The National Weather Service said Nassau and Suffolk Counties could get hit with up to 20 inches of snow. The storms biggest impact will occur between 9 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, the weather service noted. The agency is also expecting sustained winds of 30 mph and wind gusts reaching 60 mph.

LIPA crews during Superstorm Sandy. (Rashed Mian/Long Island Press)

In an unprecedented move, National Grid will take the lead from LIPA in communicating storm response as Long Island braces for a “powerful” winter storm.

“As LIPA’s service provider and to ensure consistency in messaging, National Grid is commanding this incident and is best suited to communicate storm preparation and storm response to the public,” a Long Island Power Authority spokeswoman said in a statement.

The move comes as officials worry about LIPA’s ability to respond to the “powerful” winter storm that has the potential to drop up to a foot of snow on the Island. Everyone from ratepayers to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo criticized LIPA’s response to Superstorm Sandy, which left nearly 1 million customers in the dark for days following the October hurricane.

National Grid released a statement Thursday afternoon announcing it would take “advance steps” to prepare for the incoming storm, which is predicted to bring blizzard-like conditions to the Island.

The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for both Nassau and Suffolk Counties from 6 a.m. Friday to 1 p.m. Saturday.

The winter storm has the potential to knock out power to more than 100,000 LIPA customers, National Grid said.

“National Grid is taking numerous advance steps to prepare the system for the predicted weather and to position the company for an efficient and timely restoration effort,” the utility said.

In preparation for the storm, National Grid is prepared to secure hundreds of extra line crews, tree trimmers and personnel to support more than 500 lineman and 150 tree trimmers, the utility said.

National Grid has also laid out plans to bolster call center personnel and to coordinate efforts with local and state government.

All of Long Island is under a wind advisory until 6 p.m. Thursday after howling winds brought on by a strong cold front rolled through the Island overnight, knocking out power to thousands of Long Island Power Authority customers.

As of 9:30 a.m., more than 31,000 homes and business were without power, according to LIPA’s outage map. More than 10,000 customers in the Town of Huntington woke up with no power and more than 7,000 customers in the Town of Oyster Bay were also powerless. Scattered outages were recorded throughout Long Island.

LIPA’s crews were still assessing the conditions in most areas affected by outages, according to the utility’s website. A LIPA spokesperson wasn’t immediately available to address restoration times.

The National Weather Service in Upton reported downed trees due to the storm, and Nassau County police said South Broadway in Hicksville is closed in both directions at Engineers Drive due to a leaning telephone pole with hanging wires.

Lauren Nash, meteorologists at the National Weather Service, said temperatures will drop throughout the day until this evening when temperature are expected to hit the high 20s.

She noted that the cold front has moved east but said, “there’s still going to be some gusty winds [left] behind.”

Wind gusts reached 60 mph in Merrick, 70 mph in Centre Island and 59 mph in Shirley and Islip, Nash said.