Select a Language - Select - Arabic Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Latvian Lithuanian Norwegian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovak Slovenian Spanish Swedish Ukrainian Vietnamese

Con Edison has been investing in the next generation of the electric grid for years, working with major cities such as Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai that need to build more flexible and reliable urban networks. Developing the smart grid, while not new to us, was a significant chapter for the company in 2009.

A smart grid allows for a two-way flow of energy and information between customers and utilities, giving up-to-date information to both user and provider about how energy is being used. Smart grids can more quickly identify and isolate problems, making systems even more efficient, and allow for the integration of renewable energy and electric vehicles into the system.

As part of our smart-grid pilot in Queens, we are installing about 1,500 smart meters in homes, apartment buildings, and businesses. Several hundred customers will receive information that will allow them to monitor and control their energy use. The Queens smart-grid test also involves a joint program with the City University of New York to assess how solar energy can be integrated into the grid. Plans for a photovoltaic system on the roof of LaGuardia Community College could generate 100 kilowatts of clean power.

Last fall, our two regulated utilities, Con Edison of New York and Orange and Rockland (O&R), were the only utilities in New York State to receive federal smart-grid investment stimulus funding. The nearly $200 million in grants will fund part of the cost of automating our electric-distribution systems. We will install more switches and monitoring devices and develop a new command-and-control system that integrates renewable energy, energy storage, and electric-vehicle charging stations into the smart grid.

Smart-grid projects under way in Rockland County and New Jersey will also be bolstered by the stimulus grants. More broadly, the stimulus money will promote economic vitality and create employment opportunities in the greater New York metropolitan region. While we are looking to tomorrow's energy needs, we must continue to maintain, repair, and upgrade today's complex energy systems to preserve our stellar reliability record - a record that customers expect and deserve. Our EnergyNY commitment to investing in our infrastructure allows us to prepare for the long term.

For more information about our smart grid initiative, click here.

In 2009, a new substation opened on the west side of Manhattan, and is helping us better meet customer needs in midtown. Queens residents will benefit when a new substation in Long Island City opens later this year. In Orange and Rockland counties, we upgraded more than 28 miles of overhead electric-distribution lines and replaced 16 miles of gas mains.

Con Edison of New York will see the end of its most recent substation construction program in 2011, when a new substation in upper Manhattan is energized. Based on our current forecast for reduced growth in customer demand for electricity, we will break no new ground for several years. But that does not mean that we will stop investing in our systems.

The majority of our capital spending is for maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. System reliability continues to be the focus of our capital spending. We will review our investments with an eye toward cost management, for the benefit of our customers and our business.

contact us   |   search   |   careers   |   site map   |   consolidated edison, inc.   |   privacy policy