Power from a LIPA short-lived clean-energy experiment cost Long Island ratepayers 25 to 50 times that of the standard household energy according to two federal reports on the project.

According to Newsday, LIPA said it spent $14 million to buy, install, and service more than 160 Plug Power fuel cells between 2000 and 2006. All but four of the units have since been retired, most after just over a one-year lifespan. Many lawmakers are now wondering if LIPA was the right group to field-test such an experimental technology.

Assemblyman Marc Alessi believes that DTE didn't want to take the risk when it knew that LIPA would. He said: "Why would DTE risk using their ratepayers money for an unproven technology when they knew they have clueless executives at LIPA that would do it for them?"