SOURCE:
https://gotechdaily.com/lipa-advisers-approve-interest-rate-hike-and-560-million-in-new-debt/
By David Keith - December 19, 2019
LIPA consultants approved an increase in delivery charges of 2.45% on Wednesday and authorized a new $ 560m loan as part of a plan to upgrade and stabilize the local grid while expanding green energy sources. The moves will push LIPA’s total debt to $ 8.73 billion by the end of next year.
The interest rate hike will add $ 1.86 a month to the average homeowner burden next year, but the increase will be largely offset by projected reductions in electricity and other charges, according to LIPA . cent.
Increased delivery charges and new borrowing will help cover the cost of system upgrades next year, including a new substation in Montauk, a reinforced mesh around the Nassau Hub and $ 37 million towards a new $ 200 million hardening initiative. dollars of a program previously funded by the federal government. The total operating budget for 2020 is $ 3.75 billion, while the budget plan for improving the system is $ 820 million. The expected debt at the end of 2020 will be $ 8.73 billion, compared to the expected debt of 2019 at $ 8.38 billion.
The budget also includes $ 148 million in new utility-scale renewables markets, a continuous pre-timetable launch of smart meters, and $ 43 million in new technology, including the introduction of PSEG next year of a mobile app featuring a mobile app chat feature and allows customers to report vacations and pay bills.
LIPA will spend $ 41 million on its solar program by the end of the year, Chief Financial Officer Kenneth Kane said. Funding for the program comes amid the publication of a study by a local environmental group that, while Long Island is the state leader in solar energy, many local municipalities need to do more to reduce installation times and costs. .
The report, from the Citizens’ Environment Campaign, found that Long Beach was the island’s leader in processing the required solar permits, doing so in just 6.3 days. The village of Floral Park took an average of 136 days to process licenses, according to data collected by the five largest Long Island solar companies. The Citizens Campaign said municipalities should simplify the solar radiation licensing process and keep their fees fair – they are free in Long Beach and East Hampton, for example, reaching $ 900 in Garden City. These municipalities with long processing times need to do more to speed them up, the team said.
“Many municipalities have been very supportive of solar energy, but many have stopped,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign. “They have to change.”
LIPA Managing Director Tom Falcone said at Wednesday’s board meeting that the utility will work in the coming weeks and months to make a community solar program popular with local installers. Falcone also said LIPA would has worked with the cities of Brookhaven and Southampton to propose a change in rules that will allow municipalities to purchase their own energy supplies from third parties to help reduce costs through the program. munity selection choice.
“We are happy to do so,” Falcone said of changing the rule or other options that cities want. The cities sent a letter to LIPA last week asking them to do so.
“If they can find a better deal somewhere else, they can do it,” Falcone said. “But it is very difficult to reach a better agreement.”
The board meeting also included a presentation by State Parks Regional Manager George Gorman about a controversial energy and nature center under construction on Jones Beach.
“It will be a world-class destination for teachers and students,” he said, replacing buildings that were “dilapidated and collapsing”.
Newsday announced this week that costs for the new West End center in Jones Beach have risen to $ 25 million from an initial $ 18 million.
The center is being treated by naturalists and other regular visitors who remain pending. Opponent Daniel Karpen of Huntington told LIPA managers that the project “should be stopped immediately” because “it is not something people really want” and the risk to wildlife in the center is “very high.” Gorman said he expects it to be completed sometime next year.
Mark Harrington, an 18-year veteran of Newsday, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fishing.