by Brianna Crandall — December 17, 2012—In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which brought widespread damage and power outages to New York City and the Eastern Seaboard, New York and many other municipalities as well as corporate and private entities are finding increased motivation to prepare buildings and infrastructure for future catastrophic weather.
Consolidated Edison Co. of New York (Con Edison), New York City’s main power utility, released the following statement in regards to its planning process in this area:
“Con Edison has been examining for some time ways to protect our infrastructure and maintain reliable service for our customers during storms such as Sandy. While we invest nearly $2 billion every year in our electric, gas and steam systems, we have committed in the short term to earmark $250 million specifically on measures that can help protect critical equipment from flood damage. These measures would include raising electrical relay houses in substations, and installing stronger barriers and flood pumps.
“Putting major overhead power lines underground is also a consideration and will be examined in greater detail. While our commitment today would represent an initial infusion of preventive measures, we expect that even greater investments will be needed as regional discussions evolve over the coming months and years. We appreciate Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership on this issue and look forward to continuing our work with his administration.”
According to a report from the Associated Press, costs to reconfigure for future major storms would be high, but many are now willing to invest the money and effort. Con Edison reportedly estimated that it would cost somewhere around $800 million to rebuild its substations located in the flood zone in order to move sensitive equipment beyond the water’s reach in a similar storm. The report also said it would cost many millions more to move electrical equipment out of vulnerable basement areas in flood-zone high-rises. Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked Congress recently for $2.7 billion to help pay for statewide improvements in energy infrastructure, adds the report.
