I wanted to share with you the following article that was published in the Syracuse Post Standard:

“…We've already begun a series of projects that will demonstrate how the re-formed electricity grid can optimize cleaner, more efficient technologies. Among our innovative partnerships:

• The Marcy Nanocenter, the largest shovel-ready semiconductor site in the world.

• We're also building a smart grid in the Albany-area suburb of Clifton Park, delivering integrated energy initiatives at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and we've contributed more than $1 million in grants to help SUNY Polytechnic Institute launch a new, renewable Smart Energy Test Facility that will be the largest building in the world to generate more electricity than it uses…"

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="620"] Sara Guntrum, left, and Elaine Taddeo, right, with National Grid, helping to clean up Kirk Park, Syracuse in this May 2013 photo. (Dick Blume | The Post-Standard) Special to Syracuse.com | April 22, 2015 at 6:28 a.m., updated April 22, 2015 at 6:29 a.m.[/caption]

Ken Daly is president of National Grid New York.

By Ken Daly

These days, as we experience extreme weather patterns and witness dramatic changes unfolding around the world, most of us think about our planet every day, not just on Earth Day. We think about how to sustain the earth, how to respect and restore it, how each of us can make changes that will make a difference -- while we're here and long after.

Because we deliver electricity and natural gas to more than 4 million customers across New York, National Grid is uniquely responsible for protecting our environment and improving energy efficiency. We're solidly committed to creating a sustainable future for our customers and communities. A few ways we're bringing that commitment to life in our state are:

• Volunteering -- hundreds of our employees are participating in Earth Day events and activities throughout the year to make a difference in our communities.

• Offering customers nearly $250 million in efficiency programs from 2012 through 2015.

• Setting a goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2020 and 80 percent by 2050.

• Partnering with NYSERDA and ChargePoint to install more than 65 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across upstate, at restaurants, gyms, stores, colleges and other hosting sites. EV drivers used 75 megawatt-hours of electricity from our EV stations last year and prevented 69,000 pounds of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere.

• Recycling approximately 19 million pounds of pipe, metals, glass and paper in Upstate New York in 2014.

• Receiving -- for 15 consecutive years -- the Tree Line USA award for our commitment to proper tree care and education.

• Earning the Platts 2014 Stewardship Award for Efficiency Initiative by an Energy Supplier, and

• Launching our Green Button initiative, providing customers with downloadable energy use data to help them actively manage and reduce energy consumption.

But our responsibilities don't end there. We're also committed to transforming our energy delivery system because, every day, we're becoming more dependent on technology and the energy that powers it. Upholding our commitments to our customers and to our planet means we need to update, integrate and innovate. And, as always, we'll consider and address critical environmental concerns at every step.

That's why last year National Grid launched Connect21 - our plan to revolutionize every aspect of our infrastructure. Connect21 in many ways aligns with REV, the New York Public Service Commission's proceeding on Reforming the Energy Vision. Both recognize that our energy networks lack resiliency and agility. Both acknowledge the need to reinvigorate the energy system to ensure safe, reliable, flexible service that integrates clean energy, harnesses innovative technologies, ensures data security and delivers new options for customers.

The changes called for in Connect21 and REV will be implemented, and evolve, over many years. But we're not letting any grass grow under our feet. We've already begun a series of projects that will demonstrate how the re-formed electricity grid can optimize cleaner, more efficient technologies. Among our innovative partnerships:

• With Clarkson University, SUNY Potsdam and others, we're studying the feasibility of building an underground microgrid that would enable renewable energy to add resiliency and efficiency to the North Country electricity grid.

• The 55-megawatt, privately owned biomass generating facility at Fort Drum, which will meet all of the base's electricity needs and sell excess energy to National Grid - a first-of-its-kind project for the military.

• The Marcy Nanocenter, the largest shovel-ready semiconductor site in the world.

• The solar installations at Onondaga County's water treatment plants, which will result in three area plants meeting almost half of their energy needs through renewables.

• We're also building a smart grid in the Albany-area suburb of Clifton Park, delivering integrated energy initiatives at the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, and we've contributed more than $1 million in grants to help SUNY Polytechnic Institute launch a new, renewable Smart Energy Test Facility that will be the largest building in the world to generate more electricity than it uses.

Initiatives like these are helping us modernize the grid and integrate renewable energy into our system. They also highlight the innovation, efficiency and strategic partnerships that it will take to meet customer needs and preserve our planet in the long term. What we hear, and learn, through these projects - from our customers, regulators, policymakers, market participants and communities - will inform the way ahead across our service territory. Watch our Connect21 video series to learn more - you can start the tour here with our overview video.

At National Grid, we're excited to help deliver the future. We know it's achievable, because we're seeing the real-time proof across New York. There's much to do, and we look forward to working with our customers, regulators and strategic partners as we play a leadership role on this journey together.