Con Edison’s post-Sandy improvements continue

On the third anniversary of superstorm Sandy, Con Edison released an update on its $1 billion in planned upgrades the utility company has pledged in order to strengthen the New York metropolitan region”™s storm protections.

Many of this year”™s improvements, which have cost $307 million in 2015 so far, are designed to isolate an electrical line issue and avoid shutting down an entire line of service.

These installations include more than 330 smart switches that can identify a specific trouble area on electrical lines, which are often several miles long, and reduce the number of homes affected by an outage. Concrete flood walls around electric substations and steam-generating stations have also been constructed.

Other changes include equipment and devices to prevent problems with flooding, steam and electrical wire connections.

The company”™s investment is part of its four-year program, Fortifying the Future, that was implemented after Sandy to reduce the impact of future storms in New York City and Westchester County.