Con Edison, ConnectDER Help Customers Save on Solar, Electric Vehicle Connections
Device Reduces Costs of Installing Solar Panels, EV Chargers
UPDATE: The ConnectDER program is currently offered only for new residential solar connections. The connector is free for those qualified private solar systems.
Con Edison is making it easier for customers to power their homes with solar energy and connect electric vehicle chargers.
For residential customers who install solar panels or vehicle chargers, Con Edison will provide – free of charge – a device that avoids the cost of upgrading the home’s circuit breaker panel.
The device, called ConnectDER, is mounted to the electric meter and connected to both the meter and to the solar panels or vehicle charger. Data from the solar panels or vehicle charger are then fed back to Con Edison. Avoiding an upgrade to the home’s circuit breaker panel can save a customer up to $2,500.
“ConnectDER makes it more convenient for our customers to take advantage of the economic and environmental benefits of solar energy and electric vehicles,” said James Skillman, manager of Distributed Generation for Con Edison. “We are glad to make this product available free of charge because we see solar power and EVs as important staples of our clean energy future.”
“ConnectDER is proud to work with Con Edison to help customers get these clean energy products and services,” said Whit Fulton, the CEO of ConnectDER. “We see the addition of data and communications elements for grid support on top of a simplified interconnection as a leap forward.”
The device provides Con Edison with information on the power generated by the panels or consumed by electric vehicles charged at the home. The company can use that information to plan investments in its system and run the electric grid more efficiently.
Con Edison will provide devices throughout its service area after a two-year pilot program in Staten Island during which the company provided 300 devices to installers and customers.
Con Edison has helped more than 25,000 customers connect solar panels to the grid. Those panels produce more than 243 megawatts of clean, renewable power.
About Con Edison
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and $55 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 conEd.com.