WILL STAYING AT HOME BE A STRAIN ON NYC’S POWER GRID?

> HI, I'M SPEAKING TO YOU FROM HOME.

A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE ARE ALSO WORKING FROM HOME NOW.

AND WITH THAT COMES AN INCREASE RELIANCE ON THEIR HOME ELECTRICITY.

THE NUMBER MONTHS HAVE BEEN TAXING FOR NEW YORK CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE PRIOR TO THIS HEALTH CRISIS.

WILL THE CHANGE CREATE AN ADDED BURDEN?

I'M HERE WITH A SPOKESPERSON FOR CON EDSON.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE.

GOOD TO BE HERE.

HOPE YOU'RE DOING WELL.

YOU TOO.

FIRST OF ALL, HOW ARE YOUR WORKERS HANDLING THIS HEALTH CRISIS?

IS EVERYBODY STAYING SAFE AND KEEPING CUSTOMERS SAFE?

OUR WORKERS ARE VERY COMMITTED.

WE HAVE A BIG UNION WORKFORCE, AND THEY'VE BEEN FANTASTIC.

VERY, VERY COMMITTED.

OBVIOUSLY, LIKE ANYBODY ELSE, A LITTLE BIT ANXIOUS, A LITTLE TENSE.

CONCERN FOR THEM AND THEIR LOVED ONES.

BUT THEY ARE WORKING.

AND WE ARE FOCUSED ON TRYING TO PROVIDE RELIABLE SERVICE WHILE KEEPING OUR EMPLOYEES SAFE AND KEEPING OUR CUSTOMERS SAFE.

THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN OBJECTIVES AS WE GET THROUGH THESE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS.

SURE.

WHAT STEPS NEED TO BE TAKEN TO HANDLE THE NEW SITUATION?

IT'S A NEW WORK SITUATION FOR US.

JUST LIKE IT IS FOR YOU AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE.

AND NEW SERVICE ARRANGEMENT WITH OUR CUSTOMERS.

FIRST, FOR THE EMPLOYEES, WE ACTUALLY HAVE GONE TO GREAT LENGTHS TO TRY TO EDUCATE THEM ABOUT THE SAFETY AND HYGIENE STANDARDS, PROMOTED BY THE CDC.

SO THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING, CONSTANT CLEANSING OF YOUR HANDS, ARE PRACTICED REGULARLY.

WE TRY TO GIVE THEM EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THAT.

WE HAVE ALSO SET UP TEMPORARY WORK SITES OUTSIDE THEIR NORMAL WORK SITES.

SOME IN PARKING LOTS, PARKING CENTERS, WHERE WE WILL DISPATCH THE CREWS FROM THERE, SO THAT THEY'RE NOT REPORTING TO THE REGULAR SITE.

IT'S ALL PART OF SOCIAL DISTANCING, ALL TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE APART AND AS HEALTHY AS POSSIBLE.

ON A CUSTOMER SIDE, WE'VE MADE SOME CHANGES TO TRY TO EASE THE PAIN AND BE -- EASE THE CONCERNS OF PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE WORKING FROM HOME OR MAYBE OUT OF WORK.

FIRST, WE'RE NOT HAVING ANY MORE SERVICE TERMINATIONS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HAVING TROUBLE MEETING THE BILLS.

WE DO ASK THAT THEY STAY IN TOUCH WITH US AND WORK OUT PAYMENT PLANS GOING FORWARD.

BUT WE ARE NOT HAVING ANY SERVICE TERMINATIONS.

ALSO, WE HAVE SUSPENDED ALL METER READINGS ON SITE.

IN THE BEGINNING OF THIS, WE HAVE RESTRICTED THE METER READINGS, ONLY FOR THOSE METERS LOCATED ON THE OUTSIDE.

WE HAVE SINCE BANNED THEM ENTIRELY.

WE HAVE STOPPED SMART METER INSTALLATIONS, WE HAVE WAIVED LATE FEES AND ARE ASKING PEOPLE TO SEND IN THEIR OWN METER READINGS, AS THEY'VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO DO ONLINE WITH US.

IT'S CONED.COM.

MANY UTILITIES OFFER THE SAME THING, AND JUST TO MAKE LIFE EASIER.

ONE THING I WILL NOTE, WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SMART METER INSTALLATION PROGRAM AND WE'RE ABOUT 60% OF THE WAY THERE.

SO OF OUR 3.3 MILLION CUSTOMERS, MORE THAN HALF HAVE GOT SMART METERS.

SO WE'RE ALREADY GETTING THOSE READINGS.

THAT'S FANTASTIC.

AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THOUGH, NO ONE WILL BE GOING TO ANYONE'S HOME OR APARTMENT UNLESS IT'S A SERVICE EMERGENCY OR SERVICE REQUEST BY THE CUSTOMER.

THAT'S FANTASTIC.

IN TERMS OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE OF IT, HOW IS YOUR TEAM HANDLING THAT?

ARE YOU CONCERNED AT ALL WITH THE SUMMER APPROACHING THAT PEOPLE WORKING FROM HOME IS GOING TO STRESS THE POWER GRID AT ALL?

ONE INTERESTING THING ABOUT PREPARING FOR SUMMER WITH US IS THAT IT STARTS THE PREVIOUS FALL AND WINTER.

WE INVEST EVERY YEAR CLOSE TO $1.5 BILLION IN OUR ELECTRIC DELIVERY SYSTEM.

THAT'S FOR NEW YORK CITY AND WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

ABOUT 135,000 MILES OF CABLE.

95,000 MILES OF THAT IS ON THE GROUND.

MANY TRANSFORMERS, MANY PIECES OF EQUIPMENT THAT IS UPGRADED.

WE FOCUS ON KEY AREAS.

AND WE'VE BEEN DOING THAT SINCE THE FALL.

WE'VE CONTINUED IT.

WE HAVEN'T SLOWED DOWN.

WE'RE STILL ON TARGET TO MEET OUR SUMMER PREP NEEDS.

THE ONE INTERESTING THING THAT WILL MAYBE CHANGE IS THE DEMAND.

AND A LOT DEPENDS ON HOW LONG THIS GOES ON.

WE'RE NOT IN THE HOT SUMMER MONTHS YET.

TELL US ABOUT THE DEMAND CHANGE THAT COULD HAPPEN.

CORRECT.

SO IF I CAN TRY TO PUT IT INTO SOME FIGURES IN NORMAL TIME LIKE WE HAVE TODAY, COOL TEMPERATURES IN THE 50s AND 60s, A TYPICAL DEMAND FOR CONEDDISON SERVICE AREA IS 1200 MEGA WATTS.

IN THE SUMMER, IT WILL BE 12,000, 13,000 MEGA WATTS ON THE HOTTEST DAYS, SO QUITE A JUMP.

THE MULLING OF THAT IS DRIVEN BY MANHATTAN WHERE YOU HAVE THE LARGE, COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS.

WITH THOSE BUILDINGS, MAYBE NOT IN FULL USE, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A SIGNIFICANT DROPOFF IN MANHATTAN.

AND MORE PEOPLE STAYING HOME ALL DAY LONG.

NOW, WE PLAN FOR -- IN OUR INDUSTRY, WE CALL IT THE PEAK HE CAN TRICK USAGE FOR ANY GIVEN NETWORK, AS WE LIKE TO CALL IT.

A PEAK, THAT'S THE HIGHEST AMOUNT OF ENERGY USED AT ANY GIVEN HOUR DURING A DAY.

AND EVERY NEIGHBORHOOD HAS ITS OWN INDIVIDUAL PEAK, BECAUSE WE DIVIDE UP OUR GRID INTO NETWORKS.

SO WE KNOW WHAT THOSE PEAKS ARE GOING TO BE.

IN RESIDENTIAL AREAS IN THE SUMMER, THOSE PEAKS MIGHT BE HAPPENING SAY BETWEEN 4:00 AND 11:00 P.M. WHEN PEOPLE ARE COMING HOME.

IF PEOPLE ARE HOME ALL DAY, YOU MIGHT SEE THAT PEAK LONGER.

SO YOU MIGHT HAVE LONGER PEAKS, BUT SOMEWHERE UNDER THAT.

OUR GRID IS BUILT TO HANDLE THAT.

THAT'S WHAT WE PREPARE FOR.

THAT'S WHAT WE TRY TO MAKE.

BUT TIME WILL TELL IN OUR ANALYSIS WILL CONTINUE ON WHETHER WE HAVE TO DO ANYTHING EXTRA TO MEET WHAT COULD BE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF SUMMER DEMAND IN THE REZ DNSIDENTIAL AREAS.

IS THERE SOME WAY YOU ARE ANTICIPATING WHAT THOSE NUMBERS COULD BE?

IS THERE ANY ENGINEERING THAT IS GOING TOWARD THAT?

WE'LL CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHERE WE ARE NOW TO WHERE WE ARE THIS TIME LAST YEAR.

I'M GOING TO GO THROUGH A LOT OF DIFFERENT MODELS, BECAUSE NO WEEK OR MONTH IS THE SAME TEMPERATURE AS IT WAS LAST YEAR.

SO THEY HAVE A LOT OF -- OUR ENGINEERS HAVE A LOT OF SOPHISTICATED WAYS OF ANALYZING WHAT THE NORMAL TEMPERATURE MIGHT BE AND WHAT THE DEMAND MIGHT BE.

THERE ARE ALSO ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS THAT EXIST NOW THAT DIDN'T EXIST LAST YEAR OR THE YEAR BEFORE THAT.

SO THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAMS DRIVE DOWN THE DEMAND.

SO THERE ARE A LOT OF FACTORS THAT GO INTO THIS, PROBABLY EVEN MORE SOPHISTICATED THAT MY HEAD.

BUT WE WILL TRY TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE A GOOD HANDLE ON WHAT PEOPLE ARE USING, HOW MUCH AND WHAT WE NEED TO PROVIDE THEM WITH THE RELIABLE SERVICE THEY NEED.

THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED SITUATION IN TERMS OF POTENTIALLY HAVING PEOPLE HOME MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY DURING THE DAY, PURPOSING THEIR AIR CONDITIONING UNIT, PLUGGING IN THEIR PHONES.

HOW ARE YOU MODELING WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE FOR THE POWER GRID AND DO YOU THINK THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY OF AN INCREASED CHANCE IN OUTAGES BECAUSE OF THESE CIRCUMSTANCES?

LIKE I SAY, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT'S GOING TO GO INTO IT.

TO UNDERSTAND THE USAGE INTO SOMEONE'S ELSE, WHETHER IT WAS THREE PEOPLE THERE OR NINE PEOPLE THERE, THEY MIGHT BE USING FORECOMPUTER MORE COMPUTE COMPUTERS, SO YOU'RE NOT USING ANY MORE ENERGY.

BUT IF THERE ARE NINE PEOPLE IN THE HOME AND THE AIR CONDITIONER IS ON, IT WILL WORK HARDER TO MEET THE NEEDS OF NINE PEOPLE VERSUS THREE PEOPLE.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF INTERESTING ANALYSIS THAT HAS TO HAPPEN IFYING OUR OUT HOW MUCH MORE ENERGY RESIDENTIAL APARTMENT BUILDINGS MIGHT BE USING.

WE MAY FIND THAT IT'S NOT THAT DIFFERENT.

IT'S HARD TO SAY AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE THEY WILL BE HOME ALL DAY VERSUS A FEW HOURS OUT OF THE DAY.

BUT WE'LL BE MONITORING IT NOW AND THROUGH THE WEEKS AND HONESTLY, HOPEFULLY BY THE TIME THE REAL HOT WEATHER COMES IN JULY, LET'S HOPE WE'RE OUT OF THIS BY THEN.

ABSOLUTELY.

IN TERMS OF THE OUTAGES, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT HAPPENS BECAUSE OF THE INCREASED NUMBER OF AIR CONDITIONING UNITS RUNNING, THINGS LIKE THAT DURING THE SUMMER.

IS IT POSSIBLE THE LIKELIHOOD OF OUTAGES HAPPENING WILL MOVE FROM MANHATTAN TO THE SUBURBS BECAUSE OF THE CHANGES OF THE USAGES?

YEAH, I DON'T THINK THAT WE CAN NECESSARILY DRAW THAT CONCLUSION, LIKE YOU'LL HAVE MORE OUTAGES IN ONE PLACE VERSUS ANOTHER PLACE.

HEAT CAN HAVE AN EFFECT ON EQUIPMENT, JUST LIKE YOUR CAR OR SOMETHING ELSE THAT RUNS REAL HARD DURING HOT WEATHER.

AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT IS NOT ENTIRELY PREDICTABLE OR WHERE IT MIGHT HAPPEN.

WE'RE LIKELY TO HAVE AN OUTAGE IN MANHATTAN AS WE ARE ANYWHERE ELSE, BECAUSE OF AN EQUIPMENT FAILURE, PUT ON BY HEAT, AND ALSO IMPACTED BY SOME DEGREE BY DEMAND.

I THINK THAT TO DRAW AN ASSUMPTION THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WILL BE A LOT MORE USAGE IN CERTAIN NEIGHBORHOODS, IT'S A LITTLE EARLY TO MAKE THAT DETERMINATION.

BUT WE ARE GOING TO BE TUD STUD IT NOW.

WE HAVE BEEN SINCE THE START OF A WEEK AGO OR SO.

OUR ENGINEERS WILL SEE WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND SEE IF THERE'S ANYTHING EXTRA THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO MAKE SURE WE KEEP THE POWER FLOWING.

FANTASTIC.

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR WORK, MICHAEL.

THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME.

TAKE CARE.

YOU, TOO.

THANKS.