Con Edison Breaks Seasonal Electricity Consumption Record

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Con Edison (New York, New York), a wholly owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) (New York), recently announced that the company delivered 11,937 megawatt-hours (MWh) of power to its customers in Westchester county and New York City at 3 p.m. on August 17, surpassing the previous 2009 seasonal peak electricity consumption record of 11,821 MWh, set one week earlier. The increase in demand has been attributed to the heat, although summer this year is considered to be milder than in previous years.

However, the peak demand of 11,937 MWh fails to make the company's top-10 peak demand list. On August 2, 2006, Con Edison's peak demand reached an all-time high of 13,141 MWh. In 1988, for the first time, the customers of Con Edison recorded peak consumption of 10,000 MWh. Later, in 1997 and then in 2001, electricity consumption peaked at 11,000 MWh and 12,000 MWh, respectively. Since then, the firm's electricity delivery to customers has exceeded 12,000 MWh on 29 days, which also includes three days when peak consumption crossed 13,000 MWh. In 2005, the company recorded its first delivery of more than 13,000 MWh.

Con Edison, which supplies electricity to more than 3 million households, operates a network of 33,000 miles of overhead lines and 92,000 miles of underground lines. The company also supplies steam and gas to customers in Westchester Country and New York City. Electricity accounts for about 75% of the company's revenues. The firm's electricity network consists of 2,204 feeders and 61 substations in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Bronx, Queens, Westchester and Staten Island. This year, the customers of Con Edison are expected to account for about 41% of the state's peak power demand. The company's gas-transmission system, one of the largest in the U.S., delivers natural gas to about 1.1 million customers. The network carries about 225 billion cubic feet per year of gas through a 7,300-mile gas distribution system. About 16% of the company's revenues are generated from this business. The steam business of Con Edison consists of 105 miles of pipeline, including service and main pipes, and about 3,000 steam turbines. In 2000 and 2007, this division of Con Edison, which accounts for 6% of the company revenues, received the "System of the Year" award from International District Energy Association (Westborough, Massachusetts).

Con Edison is focused on creating new technologies, which will not only improve energy efficiency, but provide savings on energy bills for customers. Earlier this month, the company announced plans to proceed with a $6 million, 18-month smart grid pilot program in northwest Queens to enable testing and commercial application of advanced and innovative technologies. One of the initiatives is a joint research project with the City University of New York, which will study and develop methods to integrate solar power to the grid. The 100-kilowatt photovoltaic cells at La Guardia Community College in New York will serve as the solar feed for this project.

Con Edison is also undertaking the urban city smart grid program, in association with the Long Island network. The designated area of 8.3 square miles is representative of the consumer density of other regions in the company's distribution system. About 1,500 homes are expected to receive smart-grid meters as part of this pilot run. These meters will record user consumption in a more detailed manner and help the company understand user demographics, usage pattern, peak and off-peak periods, as well as issues relating to disruptions, faults and outages. Smart grids help create more reliable and efficient systems by combining technology and communication systems in power generation, transmission and consumption. Con Edison also plans to seek government funding of $172 million to assist the $372 million smart grid project. The federal financing, if approved, will help in the installation of a control and command center, 40,000 smart-grid meters, and other allied equipment.

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