Con Ed proposes new *Smart Grid* technology to monitor flow, avoid blackouts - for $385M

Con Ed proposes new technology to monitor flow, avoid blackouts - for $385M
BY WILLIAM SHERMAN
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Friday, July 24th 2009, 4:00 AM

State regulators on Friday will review a $385 million plan for Con Edison to use new grid technology to streamline electricity flow and avert crippling blackouts.

Consumers would pay almost half - about $176 million - a one-time hike added to bills over three years that averages $57 per customer. The tab will vary depending on usage. Big businesses, like a Wall St. brokerage, might pay more, while residents would pay less, Con Ed officials said.

Under proposals before the state Public Service Commission, sensors and other devices would be placed throughout the 94,000 miles of Con Ed's network to continuously update a central computer on power use and possible breakdowns.

"We'll get advance knowledge of equipment failure in a particular area and be able to reroute electricity around that area to prevent a loss of power," said Aubrey Braz, a Con Ed vice president in charge of smart grid technology.

The likelihood of large feeder cables burning out during peak demand on hot summer days - incidents that triggered the Washington Heights blackout of 1999 and the Long Island City blackout of 2006 - would be minimized with the automated system, he said.
"The digital [computerized] system will regulate the flow of power and automatically isolate a cable breakdown to stop a failure from spreading," Braz said.

Customers could get "smart meters" in their homes that would show not only how much electricity was being used on a real-time basis, but how much electricity individual appliances were using.

That would let consumers tailor their use of appliances to take advantage of off-peak hours, said Stuart Nachmias, Con Ed vice president of energy policy and regulatory affairs.
"Use a washer and dryer when the power is cheaper, like after 9p.m. as opposed to 3 p.m.," Nachmias said.

The technology is universally regarded as a necessary wave of the future for power transmission.
Even persistent critics of Con Ed's performance like Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens) lauded the plan.

"I'm happy to see that Con Ed has seen the light," Gioia said. "New York City needs a smart grid because it saves people money, it avoids blackouts and it's better for the environment, so it makes a world of sense that this gets done," said Gioia.
The costs for the Con Ed smart grid are currently pegged at $385million, but ratepayers will not have to foot the full bill, the PSC said. More than 50% of the total is coming from federal stimulus funds - taxpayers' money - available in a Department of Energy grant.

Other utilities throughout the state have also submitted smart grid proposals to the PSC for a total of $1 billion.
The PSC is expected to approve the proposal, particularly because of the federal matching funds.

PSC Chairman Gary Brown is a major advocate of the new technology.
"It will significantly improve system reliability," he said in a recent speech, noting that "power interruptions and disturbances cost the U.S. electricity consumer at least $79 billion per year."