(Photo: Getty)

One week ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo demanded the state's utility companies step up their efforts in returning power to New Yorkers and threatened to revoke their business licenses if they failed to do so. At a press conference today, a reporter asked the governor how power companies reacted to the increasing pressure, specifically whether they were "pensive," "mortified," or "terrified." Mr. Cuomo made it abundantly clear the utilities were indeed very concerned and described the uncertain terms he used to make them feel the urgency of the situation.

"All of the above," he answered. "I think all of the above, because I've had the full range of conversations that you can have, so I think it's all of the above; frightened, frustrated, embarrassed. Look, you can't be any stronger or harsher than I have been on the utility companies. You can't. You can't use any language publicly, any other language that I've used, and I not have to worry about my daughters watching the broadcast, right? Privately, I have used language my daughters couldn't hear, so they've gotten the message."

Mr. Cuomo's ire wasn't done there, and he expressed particular frustration with the utilities' lack of poles for power lines.

"Now, they have an inability to respond, and that is partially personnel, material, by the way," he continued. "One of the frustrations for the utility companies, by the way, is that they ran of material. They ran of poles, believe it or not. They ran out of poles. Poles are something that a utility company would want to have, you would think, right? You look at what a utility does, it basically comes down to wires and poles and crews and trucks, these are things you would want to have? How can you run out of poles?"

Long Island Power Authority, which has yet to restore power to many thousands of consumers in Suffolk, Nassau and Queens counties, received additional scorn from the governor.

"So part of it is the system, but I also believe, with LIPA, part of it is just the performance and the management, which is just unacceptable," he said. "And they failed. They failed the consumers. The management failed the consumers. It's simple. And that's my position."

Mr. Cuomo was also had tough talk about what he expects from the federal government in financial assistance.

“We pay a lot in taxes to Washington,” he said. “This is a very important state, nationally, and I want the respect for our taxpayers." He added later, "I expect 100% reimbursement from FEMA."

Senator Ball delivering dry ice. (Photo: Mr. Ball's office)

State Senator Greg Ball, a Republican representing Westchester County and other areas of the Hudson Valley, is not happy with the response efforts to get power restored to his district in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Accordingly, Mr. Ball sent out a press release this morning titled, "BALL: ‘10 DAYS IS TOO DAMN LONG,'" calling on both Consolidated Edison and New York State Electric & Gas to get electricity back to the area posthaste.

“We applaud the first responders, law enforcement, fire and work crews working around the clock, yet according to the current predictions, utilities are expecting power restoration to take over a week -- this is absolutely unacceptable, ten days is too damn long," he said in the statement. “At the highest level I am asking the utilities to heighten expectations and do whatever it takes to make the solution a matter of hours or days, not weeks. We have seniors and families that simply cannot go that long without adequate shelter."

For its part, ConEd's most recent news update on its website states the company is working tirelessly with organizations like the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to recover from "the most devastating storm in company history."

Of course, this isn't the first time Mr. Ball had mildly explicit criticism for ConEd. During the peak of the energy giant's contract dispute with its workers, the occasionally outspoken senator sent out a press release telling them to "cut the crap."

Mr. Ball, a Republican from Westchester County, is particularly upset that the workers remain locked out of their jobs during the negotiations.

Continuing the statement's tendency to stop just short of PG-13 language, Mr. Ball announced, "There is never a good time for Consolidated Edison workers to be on picket lines and that is especially so when it is as hot as Hades!"

(Although on the scale of things, the statement ranks as extremely tame for Mr. Ball, who is no stranger to wild political incidents and declarations.)

"Utility workers are the backbone keeping us in the 21st century, with all the creature comforts, and it is critical that management provides the framework for an immediate and lasting agreement," he explained to justify his point. "The sooner these hard working men and women are allowed to return to work, and both sides meet with open hearts at the bargaining table, the better for Westchester and beyond.”

For its part, ConEd frames the dispute as entirely due to the union being unwilling to cooperate. In a short statement on its New York website, the firm uses the phrase "The union leadership refused." roughly every other line.