More than 1900 National Grid employees and 30 LIPA employees will be employed by PSEG Long Island as of Jan. 1.

The arrival of PSE&G has not been without criticism. Two business groups, Action Long Island and Long Island Metro Business Action, recently petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reverse its Oct. 2 declaration of PSEGLI as a non-public utility. The petitioners take issue with what has been described as the privatization of utilities, despite LIPA’s continued access to public funding, and hope to secure government oversight of the company.

“[PSE&G] is a good company,” said Ernest Fazio, chairman of Long Island Metro Business Action. “But that’s not the problem… They’re essentially becoming the company of record without having any of the liabilities.”

As for the possibility of handling a storm late this year, Daly said that PSEGLI and National Grid have already agreed on storm procedures should a nor’easter hit land in December. And since PSE&G was cited by the Edison Electric Institute for outstanding restoration efforts in the wake of Sandy and Hurricane Irene, Daly is positive that his team will be up to the challenge. “This is a team that has been battle-tested on the frontline of storms,” he said.