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smart grid initiative
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| Click above to view the interactive Smart Grid Movie. |
Con Edison Launches $6M Smart Grid Pilot
Customers in Queens will be participating in a smart grid pilot program to help them use electricity more wisely. Con Edison plans to install 1,500 smart meters for customers to allow automatic meter reading and give the company quick notification of electrical service problems. Another 300 customers will be eligible for in-home monitors that communicate with a corresponding smart meter and allow customers to track and manage their energy use. Con Edison will also install intelligent underground systems that use sophisticated communications technology that finds problems on the grid and fixes them more quickly, enhancing reliability. Communities involved in the project include Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and Astoria.
Smart Grid Illustration
Click above to view the interactive Smart Grid illustration.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a smart grid?
A smart grid puts information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, and more reliable and efficient.
What is involved in the pilot program?
Con Edison’s smart grid pilot program in Queens will test new technologies within the electric delivery system that will help build a smarter, more efficient grid. Specifically, the pilot program will test the integration of intelligent underground equipment, smart meters, smart building technologies, customer energy sources, and electric car charging stations.
Who will benefit from this pilot project?
This is a learning experience and all customers will ultimately benefit from the knowledge captured in this pilot project. In the immediate future, approximately 1,500 customers will receive smart meters and 300 of them will receive an in-home monitor to help customers use energy more efficiently. Other features of the smart grid are designed to enhance reliability by improving our use of existing infrastructure, integrating customer energy sources and responding more quickly to power system events. Eventually, smart grid technologies will help support large scale green energy sources and enable widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
What are some of the challenges of a smart grid in New York City?
Smart grid technologies must be able to accommodate the unique qualities of our electric system and population. One of the challenges is the terrain of the city. The buildings in New York City create canyons which make a conventional wireless communication approach difficult without significant investment. Also, a vast majority of the electric infrastructure is underground and requires equipment to be rugged, presenting challenges for wireless communication. The overall density of the company’s electric infrastructure compared to other population centers and electric utilities is also a challenge. Furthermore, the typical New York residence is quite different from other less urban populations in the country, in terms of size and energy consumption.
Can New York can be a model for smart grid?
New York can certainly be a model for smart grid implementation, especially for other dense urban areas. The unique challenges in New York and the solutions we will test and refine in the smart grid demonstration can contribute to success in implementing smart grid in other areas with similar challenges.
Does the technology exist today for a full smart grid?
Various smart grid functionalities have already been implemented in our transmission and distribution system. Smart meter technology is available for use. Other technologies such as smart charging for plug-in vehicles are being developed.
How do renewables play into a smart grid? Plug-in electric vehicles?
Renewable energy resources can provide additional generation, that can offset the energy required to supply customers and can provide system support during contingencies. Electric cars can connect to the smart grid and charge overnight or when demand is low, for a cleaner, greener planet. Plug-in electric cars may potentially serve as an energy resource and support the electric grid; dispatchable control and smart grid technology is required to accomplish this.
What are you doing with renewables?
Con Edison is part of a collaborative between the private sector and a host of New York State and New York City agencies working on what could be the largest offshore wind farm proposal in the country. The offshore wind project would be situated approximately 13 miles off the south shore of the Rockaway Peninsula in the Atlantic Ocean. The wind project would likely be designed for 350 megawatts (MW) of generation, with the ability to expand it to 700 MW, giving it the potential to be the largest offshore wind project in the country. We even have a joint Web site: www.linycoffshorewind.com.
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