LIPA customer satisfaction hits 2-year low

The Long Island Power Authority's customer satisfaction rating plummeted in August and September to the "lowest observed" in two years of measuring, according to a recently released operating report.

The 10-point rating drop for those months followed a 3-point dip in July. The rating is based on interviews with 400 customers asked to grade satisfaction with LIPA on a 1-10 scale.

The overall rating for August -- 75 percent -- was affected by "major storms, floods [and] hurricanes" in the LIPA region, according to the report.

The survey, taken throughout the month, scores customer satisfaction over 12 months, and can prompt LIPA to penalize National Grid if it's below 83.3 percent averaged over a year. The 12-month score is currently 87.2 percent.

LIPA said Wednesday that the August rating was repeated in September, although it was not listed in the report.

The utility's performance in answering customer questions or settling requests on the first call has been dropping since June, reaching a two-year low of 60 percent in August, the report said.

Tropical Storm Irene hit Long Island Aug. 29, knocking out power to 523,000 customers.Philip Walsh, whose Ronkonkoma home lost power for a nearly week in the wake of Irene, said he'd rate the utility a "minus 10."

"I called every day, at least a few times a day, and in the end they told me they didn't realize our power had been off," he said.

LIPA spokeswoman Vanessa Baird-Streeter said efforts to improve performance were under way, including appointment of a new National Grid vice president of customer service dedicated to LIPA and a new call center director.