Consolidated Edison CEO says grid equipment must expand for longer heat waves 

By Laila Kearney and ‌Pranav Mathur

June 23 (Reuters) - ​Consolidated ​Edison CEO Tim Cawley, speaking at the Reuters Global Energy Forum in New York on Tuesday, ‌said the utility must upsize parts of its grid ⁠equipment to withstand longer and hotter heat waves, while avoiding a ‌fundamental overhaul of the ‌system.

U.S. utilities have invested heavily to upgrade electric grids as they face extreme weather and growing demand from ​power-hungry data centers.

• "Long, deep heat waves wear on our equipment," Cawley said. "So we've got to upsize the ⁠equipment sort of to meet that moment," he added.

• Cawley added that New ​York does not need a fundamental grid overhaul, but should better use rooftop solar, batteries, demand ​response and grid data to ‌improve efficiency and contain costs.

• He noted that while Con Edison is seeing increased demand ⁠from data centers, it is at around 60 megawatts, compared with the roughly 800-megawatt scale cited by some utilities, with ⁠electrification of transport and heating remaining the main drivers of load growth.

• ​He also backed utility-owned large-scale renewables, especially upstate projects linked by transmission to downstate demand centers.

• Cawley said artificial intelligence and ‌enhanced real-time visibility into the grid could further improve operations. With more data from smart ‌meters and system telemetry, the company can optimize voltage, ⁠reduce consumption, cut emissions and ‌lower customer bills ​while maintaining reliability.

(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew ‌Lewis)

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