New York Energy Week is kicking off its third year next week! The energy industry event series has quickly become a must-attend gathering for businesses, government leaders, financial players, legal professionals, members of the environmental community and citizens interested in the exciting ways energy production, transportation and consumption are evolving.

New York finds itself on the forefront of this evolution due to a progressive regulatory approach dubbed Reforming Energy Vision – or REV – that is meant to support customer choice while fortifying the electrical grid in affordable and sustainable ways.

And there is no better place to learn about the challenges and opportunities associated with this historic energy system transition than at New York Energy Week, where local utilities and energy providers will discuss these issues and much more. Breaking Energy recently caught up with National Grid New York President Ken Daly in an email conversation that covers some of the company’s major initiatives and its role within NYEW. The second part of that conversation is included below.

Read the first part of the conversation here.

National Grid is an international electricity and gas company based in the UK and northeastern US. Subsidiary National Grid New York supplies gas and power to millions of residents across the state.

What is one of your biggest challenges?

We have experienced a new pattern of extreme weather events and National Grid has met the challenges.

• Polar Vortex – For the past two winters National Grid’s New York natural gas distribution system delivered unprecedented volumes of gas to satisfy the demand of millions of customers during record-breaking cold spells. This past winter our customers set natural gas usage records: Broke 9 of the top 10 gas delivery records on Long Island and 5 out of 10 in NYC.
• Mohawk Valley Flooding (June 2013) – Deployed more than 100 field personnel from National Grid’s upstate, downstate and New England service areas to restore utility service. Completed temporary repair to a damaged gas transmission line in only 10 days, allowing the Sterling Power Plant to come online. Facilitated a company-funded gas-fired equipment inspection program and door-to-door customer outreach.
• Superstorm Sandy (November 2012) – Completed over 70,000 inspections of high and low pressure services affected by flooding. Performed more than 40,000 high pressure regulator replacements in flooded areas. Facilitated a network of 250 plumbers to assist customers with equipment damage. Invested approximately $40 million in rebuilding the gas system in the Breezy Point community of Queens and New Dorp neighborhood on Staten Island. And we continue to implement projects to strengthen the resilience of the gas system; deploying additional remote controlled shut off valves to improve emergency response capabilities and reduce risks associated with gas releases; and replacing and rebuilding critical pressure regulating and control stations.
• A severe ice storm caused outages throughout Western and Northern New York on December 22, 2013, and interrupted service for approximately 150,000 customers. Initial assessments indicated a restoration effort of several days – well beyond Christmas. There were a significant number of new outages throughout the event due to the extreme icing conditions, further tree devastation and freezing temperatures. 2,300 field personnel worked around the clock – including incremental resources from our New England business and other New York utilities to complete restoration by Christmas.

• Tropical storms Irene and Lee wreaked havoc on some of our systems in upstate New York when they took down electric towers and washed away natural gas lines. In Rotterdam Junction, we were able to restore electric and natural gas service to customers in just days, through temporary repairs. We also permanently repaired infrastructure in that community to make it better, stronger and more resilient in future storms. When the storms devastated a critical section of natural gas pipe under the Mohawk River, we not only quickly restored service to affected customers, we took the opportunity to permanently repair and improve the pipe which was the only natural gas source for more than 400 customers in Rotterdam Junction. We installed a new underground line to replace a section of pipe attached to the Lock 9 Bridge. The original pipe was compromised when part of the bridge structure washed away after Lee flooded the area in early September 2011. The new line was built in less than three months, in anticipation of winter heating system.

The energy delivery system is transforming, and every day we’re becoming more dependent on the technology and the energy that powers it. We must maintain our commitments to our customers and to our planet by updating, integrating and innovating. And, as always, we’ll consider and address critical environmental concerns as part of the process.

In order to outfit our energy networks with the steel and software to respond to the needs of customers and communities in the 21st century, we need the regulatory and policy frameworks to recognize the investments required. This means incentivizing demand-side goals around efficiency and establishing targets for specified demonstration projects.

Also, National Grid is committed to attracting, retaining, and supporting a diverse and capable workforce. Our employees are key to helping us serve the innovation and customer demands of the 21st century. National Grid is passionate about encouraging children and students of all ages to be interested in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), inspiring our workforce of tomorrow to pursue careers in engineering. We have developed unique partnerships with various organizations across our service area to engage young people. For example, we are a partner with Energy Tech High School, a new career technical and education high school in Long Island City with a six-year program that trains students for careers in energy. As part of the partnership, LaGuardia Community College has developed a specialized curriculum and offers college credit courses taught by its faculty. We are providing guidance on the curriculum and developing career-ready activities for later years, such as mentoring, field visits and internships. When the students graduate from the six-year experience with a high school diploma and an associate degree, they will be prepared for a future in the booming energy industry.

Additionally, as part of our commitment to modernize the grid while embracing innovation and efficiency to provide customers with the service they demand in the 21^st century, we are playing a leadership role in an exciting energy initiative. Already underway in Upstate New York, we are integrating a microgrid in partnership with Clarkson University, GE and Nova Energy Specialists to help storm harden service areas in remote locations. This innovative design will support an entire set of critical community infrastructure during severe storms – like hospitals, schools, and providers of fuel, food and other essential commodities and services.

 Why is New York Energy Week important?

NYEW is a unique opportunity for leading energy companies, entrepreneurs and government officials to engage stakeholders in the discussion about solutions to important energy challenges facing our state. Also the Meetup group discussions are a great way to continue the dialogue throughout the year. Our energy experts enjoy the opportunity to share with others in the energy industry what National Grid is doing to advance our Connect21 Energy initiative and support the REV proceeding.

What is the current status of the Clean Heat Program? 

Since NYC’s Clean Heat Program was launched in April 2011, National Grid has converted or is in the process of converting over 565 #6 and #4 fuel oil-heated buildings to natural gas. There are approximately 800 eligible buildings in total, which leaves just over 1/4 to go in our three-borough NYC footprint (Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island). In addition, National Grid continues its efforts to aggressively convert the few remaining Clean Heat-eligible buildings on Staten Island (less than 5 buildings) to help create “NYC’s First Green Borough.” Furthermore, a number of Clean Heat-eligible buildings in our Northern Queens area are challenged by some system capacity issues that are being addressed. We plan to have availability for these facilities by the winter of 2015/2016. National Grid is focused on converting all eligible customers from all grades of oil including #4 and #6 to natural gas wherever infrastructure exists.

Has the oil price decline impacted National Grid NY at all? If so, how?

Natural gas remains the most affordable heating option for residential customers because of its convenience, comfort and comparable environmental benefits. It’s a versatile energy source with many applications. The fuel is convenient — piped directly to customers through a safe and reliable pipeline system and there is an abundant supply of domestic natural gas. Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel, helping to reduce CO2 emissions by 27%.

Even with the recent dip in oil prices, natural gas is priced at a significant discount to oil. Thus, there is minimal impact on National Grid. In the case of oil-to gas conversion, demand for gas service is strong and we expect it to remain so into the near future. We have launched several projects to expand our distribution system and better enable customers to cost effectively connect to the system.