Maintaining Reliability

The Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (CECONY) and Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc. (O&R) Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) project consists of 5.2 million smart meters, composed of roughly 4.0 million electric smart meters and 1.2 million gas devices. These smart meters are being deployed across our service territories and will result in significant environmental, operational, and customer benefits.

Smart meters put unprecedented control into the hands of our customers. With CECONY and O&R’s updated website and digital customer experience, consumers can see their energy usage in near real-time to make smarter, more informed decisions about managing their energy usage, controlling costs, and helping the environment.

Deployment of the communications network and smart meters began in 2017. O&R completed its installations in 2020, and CECONY substantially completed installations in 2022, leaving approximately 130,000 meters to be installed in 2023. More than 20,000 communication network devices have been installed throughout our service area.

To date, 5.15 Million Smart Meters have been installed

To date, approximately 5.15 million devices have been installed. The AMI Operations Control Center has been staffed 24/7 to monitor the AMI communications network, as well as meters and gas modules connected to the network.

The AMI project team has worked closely with Gas Operations and our AMI vendor to develop a first-of-its-kind, battery-powered natural gas detector, integrated with the smart meter AMI communications network. The natural gas detectors are a safety device that monitor the atmosphere where CECONY’s gas pipes enter our customers’ homes and buildings. They provide an alert when localized natural gas levels indicate a potentially dangerous leak. Through the AMI communications network, the detectors send a wireless alert to CECONY if a potential gas leak has been detected. This allows CECONY and the local fire department to respond quickly. CECONY began a pilot program to install 9,000 detectors began in October 2018 in parts of Westchester County, and the pilot was extended into Manhattan in 2019. The pilot program was completed in September 2020 and CECONY began a multi- year program to deploy natural gas detectors across our service territories, with more than 162,000 natural gas detectors installed as of the end of 2022.

Smart meter data provides CECONY and O&R with insight into outages and restoration. This allows us to see when a customer has power and to avoid sending a crew to a location where power has already been restored. These avoided “truck rolls” reduce both costs and CO2 emissions. In 2022 alone, smart meters allowed us to avoid over 19,500 unnecessary truck rolls. The insight which smart meters provide regarding outages and restorations allows us to update how we address them. .The AMI system can quickly notify operators of outages while enhancing the restoration communications that customers receive. Improvements in this area will continue over the next few years.

AMI also lets the Company operate the system at optimal voltages. Known as conservation voltage optimization, it reduces total energy consumption, as well as associated power-generation emissions. Analysis shows that information from the AMI system can reduce energy usage approximately 1.5% on average, across our service territory. This decreases associated fuel use for committed generation resources resulting in a reduction of 1.9% of total CO2 emissions. AMI provides engineers and planners more granular data, enabling potential utility system design. CECONY began implementing voltage optimization in Staten Island at the end of 2018, across Westchester and portions of Manhattan in 2019, and in Bronx and Brooklyn in 2020. By the end of 2022, voltage optimization was implemented across CECONY’s service territory.

CECONY will invest $2.3 Billion in 2023

In 2022 CECONY invested $1.8 billion in our transmission and distribution systems in New York City and Westchester County, to improve safety, reliability, and resiliency of the electric system. We invested in new customer connections and increased system capacity, including projects that facilitate the clean energy transition, replacement of defective or obsolete equipment, and system enhancements to reduce risk of outages due to extreme weather events and high summer loads. Examples of resiliency investments include replacing overhead lines with insulated lines, which are more able to withstand impacts of extreme weather. To prepare for the summer 2022 CECONY invested in upgrades and reinforcements of distribution transformers, underground feeder sections, and spans of overhead cable.

CECONY will invest roughly $2.3 billion in 2023 on continued improvements in system safety, reliability, and resiliency, while continuing to invest in infrastructure upgrades needed to support clean energy goals. In preparation for the summer of 2023, CECONY will install cable and equipment to meet summer peak loads.

In 2022, O&R invested $250 million

Additionally, O&R invested approximately $250 million in a number of and system reliability and enhancement projects in 2022 including commissioning of the $37 million Port Jervis Substation, receiving Planning Board and Town Board approval for the start of construction for the Lovett 345kV Substation, strategically undergrounding over 6 miles of distribution lines and enhancing our overhead system by replacing close to 3 miles of overhead lines with reinforced spacer cable system.

Electric Transmission Pipe Enhancement

The bulk of our underground transmission system consists of 660 miles of 69-, 138-, and 345- kilovolt feeders encased in steel pipe surrounded by high-pressure dielectric fluid (a non-toxic synthetic compound similar to mineral oil). The conductors inside our steel pipes are wrapped in paper insulation, filled, and pressurized with the dielectric fluid at a nominal pressure of 200 pounds per square inch. In some feeders the dielectric fluid is circulated and cooled to provide enhanced current-carrying capability. Approximately nine million gallons of dielectric fluid are contained within the feeder pipes and the associated pressurization and cooling plants.

In 2022, CECONY refurbished a total of 5,044 trench feet of our underground dielectric fluid-filled electric transmission cables, and in 2023 we are planning to invest $28 million to address over 3,500 trench feet of leak-prone cables.

Our leak-detection methods are some of the most sophisticated in the world:

• We use real-time monitoring of some of the largest volume feeders to constantly check their integrity.
• We infuse our dielectric fluid with a special tracer to help us rapidly locate and uncover leaks.
• If significant leaks occur, we selectively remove feeders from service, placing them on reduced pressure to slow the leak rate.

To repair leaks, we excavate to uncover the feeder pipes and apply a mechanical clamp to stop the flow. Permanent repairs are complete when a concentric steel barrel is welded over the clamp and the pipe. The pipe is then re-coated before the excavation is restored.

We expect to continue to make significant progress in research and development to reduce the potential for future dielectric fluid spills. We are also continuing to pursue efforts to replace existing dielectric fluid-filled feeders with solid dielectric cable.

Anchors Away Upgrades to steam system built by Con Edison.

Reliability Performance

CECONY is a recognized leader in electric reliability performance. While consistently earning industry awards, our overall reliability in 2022 was 99.997%, exceeding both national and New York standards.

*National and New York State numbers from 2021

CECONY’s electric system boasts the largest underground network in the U.S., as well as an overhead network. Two common metrics used to measure reliability of distribution services are System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI).

• SAIFI, compiled annually, represents the number of service interruptions divided by the number of customers served.

• CAIDI, also compiled annually, represents the average time to restore service to interrupted customers. The CAIDI figure results from the total customer minutes of interruption divided by the total number of customers affected.

For both figures, a low number indicates a better performance.

2022 NUMBERS FOR CECONY (electric)
Per 1,000 Customers Served

SAIFI: 133
CAIDI: 137 minutes

2022 NUMBERS FOR O&R (electric)
Per 1,000 Customers Served

SAIFI: 910
CAIDI: 106.3 minutes

Gas Main Replacement

In 2022, CECONY replaced just over 100 miles of cast iron and unprotected steel gas mains. In the last five years, CECONY has replaced 462 miles of such mains. Besides upgrades to the distribution system, CECONY continues to replace and upgrade the transmission system to maintain system reliability and to comply with new requirements established by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in 2019.

In 2022, O&R replaced over 22 miles of leak-prone pipe. This replacement level met O&R’s commitment to the New York State Public Service Commission. O&R continues to target its goal of replacing at least 66 miles over the next three years.