Albany and New York, NY – January 8, 2014 – The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC), a public-private partnership devoted to statewide implementation of the smart grid, praised Governor Andrew Cuomo for his vision on energy issues as outlined during today’s State of the State speech in Albany. The NYSSGC and its members also applauded the Governor for his foresight in recognizing the importance and urgency in upgrading New York’s electric grid and his leadership in advancing community-based microgrid solutions, which he unveiled with Vice President Joe Biden yesterday as part of his “Reimagining New York for a New Reality” strategy.
“Community grids protect people, businesses and infrastructure from the devastation of extreme weather and from extended power outages as were experienced following Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee,” said James T. Gallagher, Executive Director, New York State Smart Grid Consortium. “The power grid of the future will provide more flexibility and choices for consumers and Governor Cuomo’s NYPrize competition will be a catalyst for the grid’s transformation.”
The community-based microgrid approach is an innovative way to address a number of challenges and new developments facing New York’s electrical infrastructure. Ultimately, it can be the means to increase reliability and give local communities more control of their energy systems while also allowing for the adoption of clean and efficient distributed energy sources such as solar or combined heat and power. It can also be the conduit for integration of an electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which has been another priority of the Cuomo Administration.
“The leadership of the Governor and his Chairman of Energy and Finance, Richard Kauffman, have been essential in developing a coherent pathway to efficiently and effectively build a 21st century smart electric grid from which all New Yorkers can reap the benefits,” added NYSSGC Chairman Robert B. Catell, who was in attendance at the Governor’s State of the State.
About the New York State Smart Grid Consortium
New York is home to a world-class leading effort designed to establish a pathway towards lowering the cost and increasing the efficiency of our grid. The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC) brings together the world’s leading utilities, technology providers, policy makers and research institutions to identify opportunities that show the most promise for broader smart grid technology deployment. The Consortium provides the perfect convening point to develop, test and eventually implement the best solutions and a way to work with policy makers to identify needed regulatory developments. In addition to serving as an advocate for the best technology and policies, the Consortium serves as a resource and collection of experts when it comes to the future of New York State’s grid. Incorporated on July 22, 2009, the Consortium is a not-for-profit 501(c) 6 corporation – for more information, please visit www.nyssmartgrid.com