Environmentalists, labor leaders, government officials and solar energy companies all welcomed the appointment of Carrie Meek Gallagher to lead the Long Island Power Authority.
It would probably be difficult to imagine someone with a background better suited to leading LIPA than Gallagher, who takes the helm on July 7. She has more than 25 years of experience in public service, energy regulation and environmental policy — including time monitoring LIPA.
“It is a huge help and it’s going to help me seamlessly make the transition,” Gallagher said of her familiarity with LIPA. “The leadership at LIPA is critical now, over the changes happening in the last 15 months or so. I have the knowledge of the industry and the work and know the people, culture and intricacies of the relationship between LIPA and its service provider.”
Gallagher arrives after LIPA’s board rejected its executives’ recommendation to grant the grid management contract to Quanta Services rather than PSEG Long Island, whose contract expires at the end of this year.
PSEG-Long Island’s contract expires at the end of this year, so the clock is ticking on negotiating a new deal that would protect Long Island ratepayers and provide good service.
Gallagher has deep roots in the utility and regulatory spaces, after serving as the director of the Long Island Office for the New York State Department of Public Service, where she has had regulatory oversight of both LIPA and PSEG Long Island.
Before that, she was acting deputy secretary for energy and environment in the executive chamber, where she managed government operations and policy for 12 agencies, over 5,000 employees, and a $2 billion budget, including oversight, once again, of LIPA, NYPA, NYSERDA, and DPS.
Gallagher brings experience that could particularly suit her for this role at an authority charged with issues regarding electricity affordability and environment.
“Her background in both policy and operations makes her uniquely qualified to lead LIPA at a time when reliability, affordability, and accountability are more important than ever,” Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, said in a written statement.
Tracey Edwards, chair of the LIPA Board of Trustees, said “her expertise in energy, environmental stewardship, and public policy” will benefit LIPA and the public. And John B. Rhodes, the outgoing acting CEO of LIPA, described her as a “perfect blend of policy expertise, operational know-how, and commitment to Long Island.”
Gallagher realizes that she has gone from someone outside of LIPA to leading it, which is a very different role.
“My goal with regard to that is to go in open minded,” she said. “Instead of wearing my utility regulator hat that I wore, to come in and set that aside. It really is to try and go in there and become the leader of team LIPA.”
She is particularly aware that LIPA outsources daily operations, but remains an important player in Long Island’s energy delivery.
“It’s definitely a unique dynamic, a unique set up. The job is to manage the contract, the service provider. LIPA has the financial responsibility,” Gallagher said. “Where are areas where we could reduce costs to ratepayers, if possible? That’s a big part of what I’ll dive into.”
Gallagher said she believes she is taking over at “a pivotal time,” making it essential to get a contract extension in place after the board cancelled the RFP.
“As the new CEO, I have to be involved in implementing it and helping ensure that whatever extension is agreed to get approvals,” she said of a contract with PSEG-Long Island.
Although many people think of LIPA as a utility, it is actually a state authority (The Long Island Power Authority) that works with and oversees PSEG Long Island, which is the actual utility that provides power.
Gallagher has worked on the environment side of the equation as well, as regional director for Long Island at the Department of Environmental Conservation, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Suffolk County Water Authority and Commissioner of Environment and Energy for Suffolk County.
She was also deputy director of Planning for Suffolk County and director of the Long Island Index Project at the Rauch Foundation.
“I certainly think we should be exploring how we can better leverage our relationship with our sister energy agencies,” she said. “We have great institutions on the Island. Are there things we could do with Stony Brook, Farmingdale, Brookhaven National Lab?”
She has union support as she arrives, including that of John Durso, president of the Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. He said he believes “she’ll lead LIPA with a deep commitment to collaboration and the people who do the work every day.”
Bob Catell, former KeySpan CEO and Chair of the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center, pointed to her “background in utility regulation and energy policy, along with her commitment to public service” as an ideal mix.
Catell said that will give Gallagher a “comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Long Island’s energy future.”
Adrienne Esposito, Executive Director, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, saw her as someone with an environmental, as well as an energy, background.
She called Gallagher a “proven public servant who has spent her career advancing smart environmental and energy policies.”
And the solar industry welcomed her as LIPA’s new leader: David Schieren, CEO of EmPower Solar, said “she understands the critical role distributed energy and solar play in building a resilient and affordable grid for Long Island.”
“Her experience in energy policy and utility oversight will be invaluable as LIPA continues to modernize its infrastructure and expand access to clean energy solutions,” Schieren said.
Gallagher obtained a B.A. in Sustainable Development and Latin American Studies from Amherst College, an M.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of Maryland, and an MBA in Management from Hofstra University.
“Her appointment as LIPA’s CEO sends a strong message that Long Island’s clean energy future is in capable hands with someone who knows the long-term value of renewable energy,” Esposito continued.
Gallagher noted she arrives at a time when the federal government also is changing energy policy. “We are trying to navigate this changing energy landscape, changes with the federal government and their priorities when it comes to energy in the United States,” she said.
And the electric grid needs to be not only affordable and efficient, she said, but resilient with potential storms on the horizon.
“We’re an Island. We stick out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean,” Gallagher said. “We’re going to experience storms. How will we respond to that?”
