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Nine Con Edison Researchers From Queens Win Awards for Energy Breakthroughs

  • Con Edison Media Relations

  • New York – March 06, 2020 -- 11:00 AM

Nine Con Edison researchers from Queens have received industry awards for findings that will improve electrical service and keep workers and the public safe.

The employees each earned a Technology Transfer Award from the Electric Power Research Institute – or EPRI - an organization that supports the safe, reliable and efficient delivery of electricity to customers. Seven of the employees live in Queens and two grew up there.

They are among 24 Con Edison employees who won EPRI awards. (A list of all Con Edison winners and their titles is below.)

A Con Edison employee is working on a smart meter.

“Seeing so many of our people recognized with this coveted award for such a wide range of projects is gratifying,” said Tim Cawley, the president of Con Edison. “It’s a tribute to the devotion our women and men have to providing safe, reliable service to our customers. They apply their talents and intellect every day to serve the residents and businesses in New York City and Westchester County that depend on us.”

Six Queens residents and two natives were recognized for work on research that found radio frequency emission levels from electric smart meters were well within the safety standards set by the Federal Communications Commission and a European regulatory agency.

This project filled a need for information on smart meters in a dense urban environment. Con Edison is providing smart meters to its 3.5 million electric and 1.1 million gas customers. The meters let customers get more information about their usage and notify the company when a customer is out of service.

Those winners were residents William Fairechio of Bayside; Simon Odie and Benjamin Choi of Fresh Meadows, Charles Feldman of Flushing; Artem Teplov of Kew Gardens; and Michael Parobek of Ozone Park. In addition, William Azzoli, who grew up in Howard Beach, and Gregory Koumoullos, who grew up in Jackson Heights, were honored for work on the smart meter project.

Fairechio also received an award for another project. That research found that found that cell sites on electric transmission towers can lead to corrosion on underground wiring. Corrosion can increase the resistance to ground if lightning strikes the tower and result in a larger surge toward the substation. That can cause equipment failure and customer outages. Con Edison is working on a solution to mitigate the impact of the corrosion.

Con Edison safety expert Samuel Ng of Jackson Heights won an award for help the company establish ergonomic strategies that reduced injuries among workers.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $58 billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to 3.5 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For financial, operations and customer service information, visit www.coned.com.

Con Edison’s 2020 Technology Transfer Award Winners

A Study of Radio Frequency Levels from Smart Meters

  • William Azzoli, senior engineer, Customer Energy Solutions
  • Benjamin Choi, project specialist, Customer Energy Solutions
  • William Fairechio, section manager, Research and Development
  • Charles Feldman, section manager, Electric Operations
  • Victor Gallo, associate counsel, Environmental Law
  • Steven Go, senior specialist, Research and Development
  • Prakash Kothari, section manager, Environment, Health and Safety
  • Gregory Koumoullos, section manager, Customer Energy Solutions
  • Adam Miller, engineer, Electric Operations Costas Magoulas, senior engineer, Electric Operations
  • Simon Odie, senior engineer, Research and Development Hugh O’Neill, section manager, Customer Energy Solutions
  • Michael Parobek, engineer, Electric Operations William Slade, project specialist, Environment, Health and Safety
  • Yuseph Sleem, senior industrial hygienist, Environment, Health and Safety
  • Benjamin Tannen, senior staff attorney, Environmental Law
  • Artem Teplov, operating supervisor, Electric Operations
  • Chun Sing Wu, senior electric meter technician,Electric Operations

Impact of Cellular Antennas on Overhead Transmission Structures

  • William Fairechio, section manager, Research and Development
  • Robert Shuman, senior engineer, Central Engineering
  • Jade Wong, project manager, Research and Development

Ergonomic Strategies to Protect Workers

  • Prakash Kothari, section manager, Environment, Health and Safety
  • Samuel Ng, project specialist, Environment, Health and Safety

Transformer Dehydration

  • Sergo Sagareli, senior engineer, Research and Development

Cyber Security

  • William Vesely, project specialist, Central Engineering

Benefits of Electrification in Reducing Carbon Emissions

  • Gurudatta Nadkarni, vice president, Strategic Planning