Smart Grid Solutions will work with Con Edison, one of the largest investor-owned utilities in the United States, to develop technologies to increase the resiliency of the electrical grid during a variety of potential contingencies and emergencies, such as weather-related power outages, and supporting the increased connection of distributed energy resources.

The project win was announced by the Governor of the State of New York, Andrew M. Cuomo, as part of the Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Smart Grid Program, funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The project will be delivered in collaboration with partners NYU Poly and the NYU Center for Urban Science and Progress.

According to Dr Bob Currie, Smarter Grid Solutions’ chief technology officer and co-founder, the project will investigate how distributed energy resources (DER), including microgrids, can be integrated by Con Edison to increase resilience. It will look at two target areas of the electrical distribution grid within Con Edison’s service territory. The assignment will include grid analysis and gathering stakeholder input to create recommendations on how power systems technologies - including Active Network Management - can be used to create future smart grid and smart city infrastructure through the facilitation of microgrids.

"We bring a great deal of experience in the creation and management of smart grids to New York’s developing smart grid and microgrid activities," Currie stated. "Our Active Network Management approach has been deployed extensively in Europe, allowing power companies and utilities to create more resilient and cost effective power grids in challenging conditions. We look forward to having a technical analysis and design role in this pioneering project and contributing to the exciting work going on in New York City and the wider State of New York.”