Utility Boss Quits Over Botched Sandy Response

The chief operating officer of a utility company heavily criticized for its response to Superstorm Sandy is stepping down. The Long Island Power Authority says Michael Hervey had tendered his resignation, effective at the end of the year. LIPA has come under withering criticism since Sandy knocked out power to more than a million of its customers on Oct. 29, both for how long it was taking to get power restored and for poor communication with customers. LIPA was similarly criticized after Hurricane Irene.

There are still about 10,000 outages in Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties, and LIPA officials have said they hope to have most of them resolved today. The company says 99% of those customers that can safely get power already have it restored. But 35,000 customers, mostly in the hard-hit Rockaways section of Queens, which suffered significant flood damage, need repairs on their properties before power can come back. (More Long Island stories.)