Con Edison: One year after Hurricane Sandy

Con Edison Storm Hardening Upgrades reinforce energy resilience with flood walls, smart switches, submersible gear, flood pumps, smart grid, and overhead line burial, reducing outages and speeding restoration after extreme weather across New York.

A year after Superstorm Sandy ravaged the New York area, Con Edison has made numerous improvements to its energy-delivery systems as part of a $1 billion plan to fortify critical infrastructure and protect New Yorkers from major storms. Overhead equipment is now tougher and more resilient. Substations have new walls and raised equipment. Gas and steam infrastructure also is protected with water-proofing measures.

“Con Edison’s 14,000 workers have all played a role in developing a fortified energy system,” said Con Edison President Craig Ivey. “Damaging weather is becoming more frequent. When a storm hits the region, we want to restore power to customers safely and quickly. We are responding to Sandy by building a tougher system.”

Post-Hurricane Sandy Progress Completed

- Built more than a mile of concrete flood walls around stations and critical equipment as part of a broader storm-proofing plan for distribution systems.

- Added nearly 2,000 overhead isolation devices to reduce customer outages.

- Installed 800 special float-check valves to protect gas services from floods.

- Installed 38 smart switches to isolate damaged equipment and decrease outages.

- Replaced 60 pieces of non-submersible equipment with submersible equipment in flood zones.

- Installed more than 100 flood pumps.

- Installed 3,000 expansive foam seals in conduits.

- Installed more than 180 watertight flood doors and barriers.

- Installed smart grid technology in Brighton Beach that will allow us to keep customers online during a flood.

- Continued system-wide summer improvements to include installation of 31 network transformers, six new feeders, 207 overhead transformers, and reinforcement of 46 feeders by upgrading 350 sections of cable.

Post-Hurricane Sandy Progress Next Steps

- Burying 30 miles of overhead lines in 2015 and 2016 at a cost of $200 million under a post-Sandy upgrade program approved by regulators.

- Installing 70 high-tension vault switches.

- Installing stronger, tree-branch resistant aerial cable.

- Installing utility poles that withstand wind gusts up to 110 mph, similar to Florida Power & Light initiatives across its grid.

- Redesigning wires to detach more easily from customer homes, enhancing safety.

- Redesigning lower Manhattan networks to de-energize customers in flood zones and keep customers on higher ground with power.

- Replacing cast iron and steel gas pipes in flood-prone areas.

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