Task Force Will Seek To Prevent Blackouts
BY JOHN TOSCANO

"Our task force will produce the only independent evaluation coming from those who were most affected.

Hoping to prevent another power blackout, such as the recent nine-day outage in Astoria caused by Con Edison operational failures, Assemblymember Michael Gianaris announced the formation of a state Assembly task force to study and recommend measures necessary to head off another power shortage like the one that struck his district in Astoria.

Despite several hearings regarding what caused the July 17-to-25 blackout in Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Hunters Point, Con Ed officials have not been able to satisfactorily explain what caused the stoppage.

Gianaris pointed out, "Our task force will produce the only independent evaluation coming from those who were most affected. Other investigations of the Queens blackout are coming from groups that are complicit in the failures that caused the crisis." Probes are being conducted by Con Edison itself and the state Public Service Commission (PSC).

Other hearings were held by the City Council and the Assembly.

Gianaris said the task force will issue a report before the end of the year outlining policy recommendations to prevent blackouts similar to the one that impacted Northwestern Queens in July.

"Recent events make clear the need for dramatic reforms in our electricity delivery system," Gianaris (D-Astoria) said. "This panel will do more than issue vague proposals to increase infrastructure investment. We will consider the real changes necessary to improve reliability in the face of increased development and economic growth."

Gianaris said that he, Assemblymembers Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) and Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) along with Karen Burstein, former commissioner of the Public Service Commission, Professor Rae Zimmerman, director, Institute for Civil Infrastructure Systems and NYU professor of planning and public administration, Frank Murray, former commissioner, New York State Energy office, Gerald Norlander, executive director, Public Utility Law Project, and Fred Zaleman, executive director, Pace University Energy Project would comprise the task force.

In another power blackout related activity, Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (D-Queens/Manhattan) held a forum last Wednesday evening for small businesses in Western Queens that were negatively affected by the blackout.

At the meeting, the city Department of Small Business Services (DSBS) announced for the first time that the city was eliminating the interest on loans of up to $10,000 being offered to businesses affected by the blackout. Thus, instead of a low interest rate of one or two percent, qualified businesses will pay zero (0) interest on these loans, Maloney said.

The forum was prompted by a study authored by Maloney which showed that more than 60 percent of businesses in the blackout area sustained uncompensated expenses as a result of the blackout, and many were having problems collecting insurance payments.

About 50 people, mostly business owners, attended. Maloney asked on their behalf: "Why should Con Ed place an arbitrary cap on compensation offered to businesses harmed by the blackout? Why should the businesses be the ones who are punished?"

Maloney also criticized the huge utility for not investing more of its profits in an aging power distribution network.