National Grid (NYSE: NGG) has named Rudolph Wynter as its New York president as part of what the energy company calls its transition to a “deeply local” model for its U.S. business. 

The announcement includes the expansion of New England and New York leadership roles and a new chief customer officer, National Grid U.S. President Badar Khan said on Dec. 3.

National Grid will align all operations to New York and New England (Massachusetts and Rhode Island) presidents who will report to the U.S. president, effective April 2021. 

“The changes we’re making today deepen our ties to the community and align the full weight of our expertise and operations with each region,” Khan contended in a statement. “We’ll be able to move faster for our customers in the coming years — years that are critical in creating the clean energy future we need to combat climate change without leaving anyone behind.”

About Wynter

Wynter currently serves as National Grid’s COO for wholesale networks and capital delivery.

He will split his time between offices in Albany and New York City, according to Virginia Limmiatis, who handles U.S. strategic communications for National Grid. Wynter will oversee 9,600 employees, including 5,000 in upstate New York, Limmiatis told CNYBJ in an email.

Wynter will also look after 83 offices and operation centers across upstate and downstate New York that serve 4.1 million gas and electricity customers. That figure includes 1.6 million electricity customers and 630,000 natural-gas customers in the upstate New York area.

Wynter has worked at National Grid for more than 25 years, most recently overseeing one of the largest electric transmission networks in the Northeast, generation plants, and the development and construction of “complex” capital projects across the region. In addition, Wynter has managed the company’s portfolio of energy-storage assets.

An external search for the New England president is underway and a leader will be announced “at a later date.” John Bruckner — who currently serves as New York president — will take on a new role as COO of electric for New York, National Grid said.

Shift in business model

CNYBJ also inquired as to what National Grid means by a “deeply local” business model. 

As of April 1, 2021, “we are moving from being centrally managed to being aligned regionally under New York and New England presidents. This change will deepen our ties to the community and align the full weight of our expertise and operations within each region,” said Limmiatis.

She went on to explain that in New York, National Grid has, for a number of years, provided natural gas and electricity service in upstate New York and natural-gas service in downstate New York. 

“We are focused on building a smarter energy grid, enhancing storm resiliency, promoting economic growth and preparing for the next generation of clean energy. And, we’re doing all of this while further improving safety, reliability, affordability and customer service. Our electricity and gas systems power economic segments including manufacturing, health care, banking, nanotechnology, agribusiness, education, defense, medical research and development, transportation, entertainment and tourism, service industries, and much more,” Limmiatis said.

National Grid’s New York business represents 60 percent of the company’s U.S. business.       

SYRACUSE — New “energy-efficient,” LED (light emitting diode) streetlights installed throughout the city of Syracuse will save the city $3.3 million annually. 

They’ll also reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by nearly 8,500 tons a year — “the equivalent of taking more than 1,660 cars off the road.” That’s according to the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo whose Smart Street Lighting NY program was the impetus for the project.

Syracuse — through a partnership with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) — replaced all of its streetlights with the “most comprehensive set of innovative Smart City technologies in the state,” Cuomo’s office said in a news release. 

The more than $16 million initiative, implemented by NYPA, includes the replacement of about 17,500 streetlights throughout the city with “Smart, LED fixtures, improving lighting quality and neighborhood safety while saving energy and maintenance costs.” The city’s streetlights are now outfitted with Smart controls that provide programmed dimming ability, energy metering, fault monitoring, and additional tools for emergency services through on-demand lighting levels, per the authority.

Funding and features

NYPA provided Syracuse with a $500,000 Smart Cities grant for the project. The city used the additional funding to support special features on the streetlights that “demonstrate the latest in Smart City technologies,” focused on digital connectivity, environmental monitoring, and public safety. 

The state expects those features will be “fully implemented” in early 2021.

With digital connectivity, Syracuse is planning to deploy exterior Wi-Fi at community centers and public spaces, including in neighborhoods that are in need of expanded digital-network services. 

The environmental-monitoring feature means ice and snow-detection systems will assist city officials in pinpointing streets covered in ice or snow that require attention to “prevent accidents and improve safety.” The sensors provide data that can tell the city where salt trucks and plows are most needed instead of directing trucks to drive pre-determined routes. Crews will also install flood reporting and monitoring systems, Cuomo’s office said.

With the public safety and property protection feature, crews will install illegal dumping and vandalism-detection sensors at “strategic” locations to help mitigate these disturbances. The City of Syracuse will also deploy vacant-house monitoring. The system can monitor for potential fires, detect motion, and provide temperature and humidity readings of vacant homes. 

Crews will also install trash-bin sensors at various locations throughout the city that will detect when a trash bin is full and alert local officials for pickup.

New York has now replaced more than 100,000 of its streetlights with LED fixtures, a step toward Cuomo’s goal to replace at least 500,000 streetlights with LED technology by 2025 under Smart Street Lighting NY.