NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC), a public-private partnership devoted to statewide implementation of the smart grid, today announced that Executive Director James T. Gallagher has been officially named to the Advisory Board of GRID4EU. The largest smart grid project funded by the European Commission, coordinated by ERDF (Électricité Réseau Distribution France), GRID4EU is comprised of six European energy distributors with the goal of implementing large-scale demonstration projects to showcase advanced smart grid solutions. Gallagher, whose membership was approved by the Technical and Steering Committees, will represent the NYSSGC at the next GRID4EU Advisory Board meeting in December in Stockholm, Sweden to collaborate with 30 energy and technology experts from ten different EU countries.
“I am very excited to represent the State of New York and our members as part of the GRID4EU Advisory Board, which will allow me the opportunity to work with energy and smart grid leaders from across the globe,” said James T. Gallagher, Executive Director, New York State Smart Grid Consortium. “This is an excellent opportunity to advance our vision for New York, and I am eager to learn and work with these pioneering energy providers and smart grid experts to share innovative ideas and best practices to ensure a reliable, resilient, and flexible smart grid for New York State.”
The NYSSGC’s long-term goal is to modernize New York’s electrical grid to improve reliability and resiliency, lower long-term costs, and identify best practices to meet the evolving energy service needs of consumers. Under Mr. Gallagher’s leadership, the NYSSGC and its members are actively pursuing several key priorities including the facilitation of smart grid projects across New York State, the establishment of the Consortium’s vision for the utility of the future, and the organization and strengthening of grid-related research capabilities.
Prior to assuming the position of Executive Director of the NYSSGC earlier this year, Mr. Gallagher served as Senior Manager for Strategic Planning at the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO). Over his 30 years in the energy industry, he has also served as Senior Vice President for Energy Policy at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Director of the Office of Electricity and Environment for the New York Public Service Commission, along with senior energy policy positions at Northeast Utilities, the Pennsylvania Governor’s Energy Council, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
About the New York State Smart Grid Consortium
New York is home to a world-class leading effort designed to establish a pathway towards lowering the cost and increasing the efficiency of our grid. The New York State Smart Grid Consortium (NYSSGC) brings together the world’s leading utilities, technology providers, policy makers and research institutions to identify opportunities that show the most promise for broader smart grid technology deployment. The Consortium provides the perfect convening point to develop, test and eventually implement the best solutions and a way to work with policy makers to identify needed regulatory developments. In addition to serving as an advocate for the best technology and policies, the Consortium serves as a resource and collection of experts when it comes to the future of New York State’s grid. Incorporated on July 22, 2009, the Consortium is a not-for-profit 501(c) 6 corporation – for more information, please visit www.nyssmartgrid.com.
About the GRID4EU Project
Designed in response to a call for projects from the European Commission under FP7 program, the project lays the groundwork for the development of tomorrow's electricity grids. Coordinated by ERDF and drawing on the expertise of six distribution system operators (ERDF, Enel Distribuzione, Iberdrola, CEZ Distribuce, Vattenfall Eldistribution and RWE) and some 27 industrial and scientific centers of excellence, universities and technology manufacturers, GRID4EU is the largest smart grid project cofounded by the European Union. GRID4EU consists of six demonstrators, which will be tested over a period of four years in each of the European countries represented in the consortium. The emphasis will be on fostering complementarily between these projects, and on promoting transversal research and sharing results between the different energy distributors involved. It will test the potential of Smart Grids in areas such as renewable energy integration, grid automation, energy storage, energy efficiency, active demand and load reduction. www.grid4eu.eu
