Upgraded Upstate Power Grid Will Deliver a Smarter, Stronger, Cleaner Energy System, Strengthen Local Economies

(NAPSI)—For today’s homes and businesses, affordable access to reliable electricity is as essential as having running water. Over several decades, an extensive electric system has been built to accommodate the ever-growing need for more power every time people flip a switch.      An ongoing shift toward electrification—from electric vehicles to all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems—is further increasing the need for a reliable, resilient energy grid.      By 2050, peak electricity needs across New York are expected to rise by nearly 20,000 megawatts—a 58 percent increase from today—according to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which manages the state’s electric grid. A single megawatt powers approximately 200 homes, so that is a significant demand increase.     Meeting that demand can’t happen without a modernized electric grid: the infrastructure that moves power from where it’s generated to where it’s needed. The U.S. Department of Energy says the nation’s energy grid will need to more than double by 2035 to accommodate the need for more power.      Here in New York, that work is well underway.      Transforming the Energy Highway     Increasing the capacity of the grid is more than a matter of putting up new utility poles. The entire system needs to be transformed by constructing or rebuilding high-voltage transmission lines that carry electricity across long distances.      Substations that change the voltage of electricity to safely move it across different parts of the system also must be strengthened to accommodate more power and perform reliably in extreme weather conditions.      All this new infrastructure must be made smarter through technology that prevents load loss across long distances, automates systems to maintain and restore power when it goes out, and defends against increasingly severe storms and potential cyber threats.      Smarter, Stronger,  Cleaner Energy Grid     This work won’t be accomplished overnight. Energy delivery companies are making big investments in the grid to ensure the lights stay on as the electric system evolves.      National Grid, for example, recently launched the Upstate Upgrade, a $4 billion investment in more than 70 projects across Upstate New York through 2030 to improve reliability and resiliency, and support the state’s climate, clean energy, and equity goals.     Upstate New York is the linchpin of the state’s energy system. The region is the home to the Empire State’s most significant hydropower generators and has enough space to accommodate large-scale wind and solar projects.      To ensure that electricity reliably reaches the consumers who need it to power their lives, the Upstate Upgrade will construct or rebuild more than 1,000 miles of transmission lines, renovate, and build substations, and deploy new technologies to support a more resilient network.      Projects in Central New York and the North Country alone will increase system capacity by 2,400 megawatts, enough to power almost 10 percent of the state’s peak power needs.     Strengthening New York’s Economy     The construction needed to expand and upgrade New York’s power grid will have a significant economic benefit for local communities and create good-paying jobs for the next generation of workers.     The Upstate Upgrade alone will create more than 1,700 new construction infrastructure development jobs and is expected to generate at least $1.9 billion in overall economic output during and after construction.      Grid upgrades also will create a considerable ripple effect across the broader economy, supporting critical industries like semiconductor manufacturing that bring the promise of significant jobs and tax revenues for generations to come.      Learn More     For more information, visit Upstate Upgrade.NationalGrid.com.