Kevin Burke, chairman and chief executive officer of Con Edison, said: “New York City will be a model showing how smart grid technologies can work together in dense urban areas. Smart grids would change the way we manage the grid, and can change the way customers manage their energy usage. Our vision is to identify grid innovations that can be reliable and cost effective, and provide increased flexibility for customers in the ways they make energy choices.”
Chancellor Matthew Goldstein, said: “With this ‘smart grid’ agreement, CUNY is partnering with Con Edison to create a roadmap for New York and an example for the nation as we move toward energy independence. The University’s faculty and researchers will continue to work closely with Con Edison to identify new solar and renewable energy opportunities.”
Con Edison’s urban city smart grid pilot would take place within its Long Island City network, an 8.3 square-mile-area, which has a customer density mixture representative of other areas in the company’s system. The network entirely or partially includes the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. The location of the smart grid pilot also gives Con Edison flexibility by housing necessary equipment on its own property. Approximately 1,500 customers will receive smart meters, the main component of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
The demonstration program also tests the integration of intelligent underground systems that can monitor, isolate and correct distribution problems to improve reliability; a commercial customer’s energy generator and renewable energy resources, such as solar energy, into the grid; and plug-in electric vehicles and their charging stations.
By the end of August 2009, the company is expected to file proposals with the US Department of Energy for stimulus funds to help finance approximately $375m in smart grid projects. Stimulus grants, if secured, will widen the scope of the company’s smart grid efforts. Few of these projects include the addition of approximately 40,000 smart meters, more intelligent underground and overhead systems, and a command and control network.
Arshad Mansoor, vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization at EPRI, said: “We are working with Con Edison on the Queens smart grid project to demonstrate the concept of interoperability that will be critical for widespread deployment of smart grid.”
The company’s smart grid pilot project was developed after five years of research and development. Smart grid technology is part of the company’s EnergyNY plan, that balances energy-efficiency initiatives with infrastructure investments to meet the region’s increasing need for energy.
