New York’s Con Edison invests $2.3bn into grid resilience

New York’s Consolidated Edison, one of the largest investor-owned energy companies in the US, has invested $2.3 billion in infrastructure projects across New York City and Westchester County to keep power grid service reliable.

The projects include the installation of new substation equipment, 28 underground and 69 overhead transformers that regulate voltage, 938 sections of underground and overhead cable and 241 poles.

Initiatives that will receive funding include:

• In Brooklyn, the energisation of 74 new sections of underground cable to establish two new feeders and enhance reliability in Williamsburg.

• In Queens, the energisation of 115 sections of underground cable to support increasing demand for power in Ridgewood and Glendale; moving overhead electric delivery equipment underground in an area of Maspeth to protect it from tree damage during storms and avoid outages.

• In the Bronx, increasing distribution supplies and reconfiguring circuits so that they can carry more power to enhance reliability in the Highbridge, Claremont Village, Morrisania, Charlotte Gardens and Soundview areas; investments in the southern Bronx to reduce supply interruptions. This will increase the delivery system’s capacity in anticipation of the electrification of vehicles and buildings.

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• On Staten Island, new switchgear and substation transformers, along with the reconfiguration of overhead circuits in Dongan Hills; new transformer vaults, the replacement of dozens of poles and spans of wire in the New Dorp Beach area, where the demand for power is growing; new cable, poles and manholes to serve West Brighton, Travis, Port Richmond and South Beach.

• In Westchester County, investments to improve the reliability of overhead lines in New Rochelle, Larchmont and the villages within Mount Pleasant. These improvements will allow the company’s crews to restore service more quickly when outages do occur.

• In Manhattan, Con Edison is in the final construction phase of a multi-year project to create a new electrical network and increase capacity in the Midtown West area. The company is also beginning a project to improve reliability and accommodate future load growth in Yorkville and Harlem. This project will include the installation of 4.6 miles of cable.

“These critical infrastructure projects support New York’s transition away from fossil fuels and improve the reliability of our grid by helping us meet the increased demand for power as buildings and vehicles become electrified,” said Matthew Ketschke, the president of Con Edison.

“Our investments provide value for every customer and ensure that our grid remains resilient and reliable in the face of extreme weather such as heat waves and storms, which are becoming more frequent and intense due to climate change.”

Con Edison forecasts that the demand for power will peak at 12,800MW this summer.

Last year’s peak was 11,565MW, which occurred on July 27, 2023. The all-time record is 13,322MW, which occurred during a heat wave on July 19, 2013.