Investigators said failures of those systems played roles in both a 1999 Washington Heights blackout and a 2006 blackout in Queens. Problems with relay protection systems are not new to Con Ed. “If taxpayers are paying the costs of higher rates without the benefit of modern infrastructure, that is a problem that requires and investigation,” Torres said.
Con edison 5 year budget plan upgrade#
“if anything we should put a rate decrease on the table.”Ĭouncil Member Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx), who Chairs the city’s Oversight and Investigations Committee, also expressed concern about the abandoning of a $350 million project to upgrade relay protection systems. Scott Stringer, the New York City Comptroller, said if the utility spent less than it pledged to spend on relay protection upgrades, ratepayers should see a refund. Currently, Con Edison is petitioning the New York Public Service Commission for a new 8.6% electricity rate hike – much of it based on the projected cost of new safety and reliability infrastructure. New York State approves electricity and gas rates for public utilities based upon the budgetary projections those utilities provide. Though Con Edison did not itemize the $115 million spent on relay protection systems, the utility pledged to provide more details to the I-Team within a week. We need transparency and specifics to understand - did they make the critical crucial and necessary upgrades that they promised to do when they got two previous rate hikes.," Johnson said. "These investments meet or exceed industry standards and are part of more than $1.5 billion invested in our electric delivery system every year.”ĭespite that assurance, Corey Johnson (D-Chelsea), Speaker of the New York City Council, expressed concern that Con Ed has not given an account of exactly what specific upgrades have been paid for – and whether the less expensive price tag means lower reliability. "Con Edison has invested at least $215 million since 2009 on upgrading its relay protection system across our entire grid," the statement reads. But those funds came from other parts of the budget. In a statement to the I-Team, Con Ed stressed the utility has spent about a third of the projected $350 million on improving its relay protection scheme. When the Feds relaxed those standards, the utility opted for less expensive upgrades. Con Ed ultimately declined to fund the project, each year filing capital expenditure reports that showed zeros next to the program's title.Ĭon Ed said budget projections for the “Relay Protection System Redundancy Program” were based on expectations that federal regulators would require more expensive improvements. Gunman With Gang Ties Arrested in NYC Sidewalk Shooting Where Kids Dove for CoverĪccording to documents filed with New York's Public Service Commission, as early as 2009, Con Ed was planning to spend $80 million on a project called the “Relay Protection System Redundancy Program.” In a filing from 2013, the utility expanded its budgetary forecast, projecting the plan might cost $350 million over ten to twenty years.ĭespite budgeting for those upgrades. In a statement released a day after the lights went out, Con Ed said a preliminary review indicated the West Side blackout was triggered when “the relay protection system at our West 65th Street substation did not operate as designed.” Relay protection systems can be thought of as networks of circuit breakers that are supposed to contain electrical problems before they cripple multiple substations and cause full-blown blackouts.
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