Department of Public Service Names First Long Island Director
Plainview, NY - June 3, 2014 - Audrey Zibelman, chief executive officer of the New York Department of Public Service (DPS), today announced the appointment of Julia Bovey to serve as the first Director of the Department’s Long Island Office, opened since January. Ms. Bovey has energy experience in both the public and private sectors having worked for an energy regulator and as a developer of renewable and clean energy resources. She will serve as the executive leader for the Long Island office reporting directly to CEO Zibelman.
“Ms. Bovey comes with an impressive background working with competitive utility markets and the electric utility industry, experience developing federal regulatory policy, and extensive communications skills,” said CEO Zibelman. “Ms. Bovey’s extensive professional experiences and work history makes her the ideal person to lead our regulatory oversight efforts on Long Island. She is well-suited to ensure Long Island consumers are provided with affordable, resilient electric service.”
In this new position, Ms. Bovey will be responsible for the oversight of the Department’s operations on Long Island. The Long Island office is charged with examining the core utility operations of the Public Service Enterprise Group-Long Island (PSEG-LI), and advising the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) with its role in overseeing the activities of PSEG-LI.
Ms. Bovey will manage the Long Island Office staff and coordinate its work with other offices in activities related to PSEG-LI and/or LIPA. In addition, Ms. Bovey will represent DPS at meetings with public officials, hearings, conferences and before federal agencies. She is scheduled to start in her new position in early July.
In addition to her regulatory background, Ms. Bovey has had significant experience developing renewable energy resources, a major area of interest on Long Island. Ms. Bovey has served in a number of policy and communications positions, most recently at First Wind since 2010. She has worked at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Ms. Bovey has a Master of Science degree in Journalism from Columbia University.
In January, the Department opened an office on Long Island as part of the restructuring of utility operations on Long Island by the State in response to Superstorm Sandy. The DPS-LI office will partner with other state agencies in a coordinated effort by using state resources to oversee and invest in Long Island’s energy system focusing on customer bill reduction, consumer choice and more resilient and clean energy systems by adopting distributed solutions.
The regulatory oversight provided by DPS-LI will help ensure Long Island electric customers will receive better electric service than they had previously. In this role, DPS-LI will work with PSEG-LI and LIPA to ensure accountability and transparency to Long Island electric service. Key focus areas include annual reviews of emergency response plans, capital expenditure plans, performance incentives, and long-range electric system improvement plans; electric rates; management audits; oversight of consumer rights and protections; and consumer education.