Con Edison CEO: Smart Meters, Technology and Renewables Will Improve Service to Customers
21 May 2018 - 3:54PM
Consolidated Edison, Inc., (Con Edison) (NYSE:ED) Chairman and CEO
John McAvoy told a shareholder audience that smart meters,
technology investments, and increased integration of renewables
will improve service to customers and enhance the company’s
long-term sustainability.
While discussing Con Edison Company of New York and Orange &
Rockland Utilities, the corporation’s two regulated utilities,
McAvoy said smart meters that allow customers to monitor their
energy usage in near real time, technology, and mobile apps are
making it easier for customers to manage energy use. Smart meter
installations, now in the second year of the company’s rollout,
will be completed in 2022.
“Our company’s performance continues to be strong and we have
encouraging growth and development opportunities as we look ahead,”
said McAvoy. “Over the next three years, we expect to be investing
over $9.5 billion in our systems. Much of that investment is
focused on improving safety, reliability, and reducing risk.”
McAvoy said he was extremely proud of Con Edison’s 15,000
employees, noting that improved safety efforts involving close
collaboration with the company’s unions have contributed to record
safety performance, with a 70 percent reduction in recordable
injuries since 2009. He also lauded employee efforts during the
recent March nor’easters, and when employees left their families to
assist with restorations in Puerto Rico.
McAvoy also referred to Con Edison’s strides in improving public
safety by introducing new technology and making infrastructure
investments, noting the development of sensors placed in
underground manholes that can detect deterioration of electric
components and alert the company before an equipment failure.
Con Edison’s chairman noted the company is piloting the use of
methane detectors in customer homes that will alert them to the
presence of natural gas. He also reported the company is ramping up
its natural gas main replacement program to 100 miles a year by
2021, and added that the company is working with Google and the
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to utilize technology that can
help identify the location of non-hazardous methane leaks to cut
down on carbon emissions.
McAvoy also highlighted the importance of cyber and physical
security, noting focus on prevention, detection, investigation and
response. The company works with outside security experts, as well
as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
McAvoy also said that the company is encouraging incorporation
of new technologies and distributed energy resources that support
New York State’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative. He
noted that the new Hudson Yards project on Manhattan’s West Side
will include a combined heat and power project that is part of a
microgrid. He also cited Marcus Garvey Village in Brooklyn, which
has a microgrid that includes solar panels, a fuel cell, and
battery storage.
He added that technical advancements around battery storage are
increasing consumer willingness to purchase electric vehicles, and
estimated that by 2025 electric vehicles will constitute 20 percent
of all new vehicle sales. He added that Con Edison will invest $25
million in curbside and fast charging.
McAvoy observed that the company’s emphasis on energy efficiency
continues, with over 340,000 customers taking advantage of $350
million in company energy efficiency incentives since 2009. Carbon
emission reductions of 1.4 million tons have resulted, the
equivalent of taking 300,000 cars off the road.
The company’s peak natural gas demand is up 30 percent over 6
years, according to Con Edison’s chairman, yet because of
uncertainty about the availability of future supply, Con Edison is
taking a two-pronged approach to best serve customers’ upcoming
needs. First, the company is working to identify the best
opportunity to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing
supplies. The company also is initiating a program that doubles
incentives for gas energy efficiency, and is rolling out the first
demand response program for gas, where customers will be paid to
use less gas at times of peak total use.
The company’s clean energy businesses now have large renewable
facilities in 17 states, representing a $4 billion investment.
McAvoy noted that Con Edison is now the fifth largest solar
producer in North America, delivering emission-free electricity to
the communities served and stable earnings growth for
shareholders.
Con Edison Transmission invests in both natural gas and electric
transmission outside the service area of the regulated utilities.
McAvoy noted the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $3 billion, 300-mile
project in Virginia and West Virginia, in which the company has a
$400 million stake.
McAvoy also alluded to the company’s strong financial
performance, mentioning that this was the 44th consecutive year
that shareholders received an annual dividend increase.
Consolidated Edison, Inc. is one of the nation's largest
investor-owned energy-delivery companies, with approximately $12
billion in annual revenues and $49 billion in assets. The company
provides a wide range of energy-related products and services to
its customers through the following subsidiaries: Consolidated
Edison Company of New York, Inc., a regulated utility providing
electric, gas and steam service in New York City and Westchester
County, New York; Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., a regulated
utility serving customers in a 1,300-square-mile-area in
southeastern New York State and northern New Jersey; Con Edison
Clean Energy Businesses, Inc., which through its subsidiaries
develops, owns and operates renewable and energy infrastructure
projects and provides energy-related products and services to
wholesale and retail customers; and Con Edison Transmission, Inc.,
which through its subsidiaries invests in electric and natural gas
transmission projects.
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