NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened on Tuesday, to revoke National Grid's license for its downstate gas franchise if the utility doesn't turn on the gas for customers in 14 days.
Cuomo issued a letter to National Grid CEO John Pettigrew and President John Bruckner following National Grid's failure to provide "adequate and reliable service," including failing to address supply issues, neglecting the needs of their customers, stalling private development, and the associated diminution of tax revenues to local governments.In the letter, Cuomo states that National Grid points to their lack of supply as the reason for their denial of service to thousands of customers, which exhibits their failure to plan for supply needs.
National Grid has said it could not meet the demand for gas if the Williams Pipeline proposal, which includes a 23-mile extension of an existing pipeline that would run from New Jersey across New York Harbor to the Rockaways isn't approved. The company that wants to build the pipeline has been rejected twice by the state of New York.
Cuomo said "more could have been done to communicate with customers" and there was "no doubt National Grid failed to provide ‘adequate and reliable’ service".The governor then accused the company's "moratorium" as either a fabricated device or a lack of competence, stating that there is no need for it in the first place.