Audit Accuses New York State-Owned Utility of Waste, Inefficiency.

Byline: David Robinson

Aug. 7--A stinging audit of the New York Power Authority charged Monday that the nation's biggest state-owned utility is moving forward with a series of "ill-defined and uncoordinated initiatives" that could cost more than $1 billion a year.

The report issued by state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, a Democrat interested in running for governor next year, also accused the Power Authority of wasteful spending and inefficient management.

In addition to questioning the Power Authority's role in efforts to increase power generating capacity in the electricity-starved New York City area, the audit also criticized the agency's travel spending, including the purchase last October of a new corporate aircraft that also is used to transport Republican Gov. George Pataki around the state.

"This audit raises serious concerns about what the role of the largest state-owned utility in the nation will be in the new, deregulated environment," McCall said. "It …