In the Edison Tradition

The Edison Power Research Institute (EPRI) is honoring Con Edison employee Christopher Jones, department manager for Bronx/Westchester Engineering, for creating a software application called "Reactance to Fault," which decreases the time to locate a problem on a feeder and, if an outage occurs, reduces the time that customers are without electricity.

Feeders are circuits, the lifelines of the electric distribution system that carry electricity from a substation to customers. They consist of cable, fuses, transformers, network protectors, breakers and relays.

Used primarily by the company's electric control rooms, Jones' innovation increases the reliability and efficiency of the system by locating a fault -- or a problem -- on a feeder more quickly than older methods. His system measures the electrical impedance to the fault, which pinpoints its location, saving precious time to make repairs and restore electricity to customers.

Jones, a seven-year company veteran and a Manhattan resident, has been selected by EPRI's Power Delivery & Utilization (PDU) sector as its recipient of the 2007 PDU Technology Transfer Award -- an individual award for leadership and vision in the research, development, and implementation of the fault location system. Jones' application integrates EPRI's PQView software with Con Edison's circuit analysis and feeder mapping system.

The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) leads research, development and demonstration of technical and operational solutions in electricity generation, delivery and use.

In the tradition of Thomas Edison, who secured more than 1,000 patents, Con Edison encourages its employees to cultivate ideas with the help of the Research and Development department. Jones' "Reactance to Fault" is one of Con Edison patents pending application to be filed in 2008. The applications focus on greener, smarter and safer innovations.

The Institute's collaborative model engages EPRI members, participants, scientists and engineers, along with experts from academia and other business sectors. As an independent, nonprofit center for public-interest energy and environmental research, EPRI's work is supported both by its members, which represent more than 90 percent of the electricity generated in the United States, and by growing international participation, representing more than 15% of EPRI's program support.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $13 billion in annual revenues and $28 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at www.coned.com .

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