Con Edison Researcher Wins Award for Work on Microgrids
A Con Edison researcher who grew up in Flatbush, Brooklyn and now lives in Harlem has won a prestigious industry award.
Andrew Reid, a senior planning analyst in Distributed Resource Integration, earned the Technology Transfer Award from the Electric Power Research Institute for findings on the planning, designing and operation of microgrids.
Andrew Reid of Con Edison atop a roof at the company’s headquarters in Manhattan. The company has 40 kilowatts of solar generation on the roof.
Microgrids are local energy networks that are able to separate from the larger electrical grid during extreme weather events or emergencies, providing power to individual customers and crucial public services such as hospitals, first responders, and water treatment facilities.
Reid, who has been with Con Edison since April 2014, was one of five Con Edison employees honored by EPRI.
“Rapid advances in technology give us new ways to serve customers, but also challenge us to understand complex, new concepts,” said Tim Cawley, the president of Con Edison. “The work our researchers have done with EPRI will help Con Edison and other energy companies keep their service safe and reliable as customer needs and technology continue to evolve.”
James Skillman, a customer project manager in Con Edison’s Distribution Planning department, helped develop a model that uses data such as energy prices, borrowing costs, the cost of solar panels and local income levels to predict the number of customers who will choose solar over a given period of time.
Energy companies like Con Edison can use the information to help plan how they deploy and manage solar energy on their electric-delivery systems in ways that keep service reliable for all customers.
Three researchers developed a system to help energy companies evaluate the strength of their substation cyber security protections. The method can help energy companies plan the investments they need to make to protect their systems and customers.
Those winners were: Arman Shiplu, a section manager in Protective Systems Testing, William Vesely, a project specialist in Control Systems Engineering, and Selena Ley, a technical specialist in Corporate Security.