ALBANY — The New York State Public Service Commission (Commission) announced it has approved a storm-hardening and resiliency plan for Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (Con Edison) for 2016. This final phase calls for a record investment of nearly $459 million this year to strengthen the company’s electric, natural gas, and steam distribution system.

“Superstorm Sandy caused billions of dollars in property damage and plunged more than two million New Yorkers into darkness,” said Commission Chair Audrey Zibelman. “The investments made this year will add to the tremendous progress Con Edison has been making to better protect New Yorkers from the harmful consequences to New Yorkers’ health, safety and well-being along with the huge economic losses of such catastrophic outages.”

Con Edison’s storm-hardening work this year will include:

• Strengthening the electric system by making improvements to the coastal network, strengthening overhead distribution and transmission lines, as well as fortifying generating stations;

• Hardening the natural gas system, including replacing mains in flood zones, and installing vent-line protection devices; and

• Fortifying the steam system by fortifying certain critical steam production facilities, installing isolation and remote-operated valves, and reinforcing the system in flood zones.

In response to Commission directives, Con Edison invested $170.8 million in 2014 and an estimated $324.8 million in 2015 for storm-hardening and resiliency projects. The projects are related to the company’s coastal networks, overhead system, substations, transmission structures and power generation facilities. As part of this initiative, Con Edison developed plans to protect 16 substations from future flood conditions and storm surges by utilizing measures such as reinforced perimeter walls, installing gates and floodwalls, and raising the height of critical equipment.

The Commission’s decision represents the successful conclusion of the Con Edison’s highly lauded storm hardening collaborative, which brought together numerous parties, including the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, and the Pace Energy and Climate Center, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Environmental Defense Fund, to ensure storm-hardening efforts were successful. The Commission thanks all of the participants in the proceeding for their efforts.

The installation of these storm-hardening measures, including work at the company’s East 13th Street substation, is critical to maintaining the operational integrity of these facilities during extreme storm events. Flooding at the East 13th Street substation as a result of Superstorm Sandy resulted in a significant power outage in New York City.

In its 2014 rate order, the Commission established the storm hardening and resiliency collaborative. In that order, the Commission found that Con Edison needed to develop new tools and flexibility to adapt to climate changes. As a result, the utility adopted a new design standard to protect its utility systems located in flood zones, and committed to revisit its design standards every five years. This standard includes anticipating future flood levels above the levels currently predicted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in anticipation of future sea level rise and other risks.

The Commission said it expects Con Edison will continue its ongoing efforts to ensure that its utility systems remained hardened and resilient in light of the most current data and analysis the company has available. It is expected that Con Edison will integrate those considerations into its system planning and construction forecasts and budgets, particularly in future electric, gas and steam rate requests.

The Commission’s decision may be obtained by going to the Commission Documents section of the Commission’s Web site at www.dps.ny.gov and entering Case Number 13-E-0030 in the input box labeled "Search for Case/Matter Number". Many libraries offer free Internet access. Commission documents may also be obtained from the Commission’s Files Office, 14th floor, Three Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12223 (518-474-2500). If you have difficulty understanding English, please call us at 1-800-342-3377 for free language assistance services regarding this press release.