Con Edison has begun installing first-of-its-kind smart Natural Gas Detectors that can detect gas leaks early and notify emergency responders faster than customer calls usually do.

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The innovative detectors can communicate directly with Con Edison’s Gas Emergency Response Center in the event of a leak.

The detector will sound an alarm if it detects natural gas in the atmosphere where the device is installed. It will also send an alert to Con Edison, which will notify the local fire department. Con Edison and the fire department will respond and investigate. The alarm will continue to sound until Con Edison silences the unit. The alarm includes a voice recording advising building occupants to evacuate and to call 911.

The smart Natural Gas Detectors are being installed under a pilot program in homes and businesses in parts of Westchester County. Unlike traditional detectors that are used in public areas, these detectors are installed near where the gas service pipe enters a building or near the gas meter.

“These detectors could help save lives by using smart technology to communicate directly from a customer’s home to our emergency department,” said Marc Huestis, senior vice president for Con Edison’s Gas Operations. “We’re proud to be the first utility in the country to pilot this game-changing gas safety initiative.”

Yoshinori Nishiue, Senior Director of Engineering at New Cosmos said, “We are excited to launch the industry’s first battery powered methane detector with wireless communication.  As a leading manufacturer of gas detection products, we are proud to be partnering with Con Edison to develop this innovative life safety product.”

“We are delighted to see Con Edison benefit from Itron’s and New Cosmos’ technology to improve safety for its customers,” Todd Thayer, technology partner enablement executive at Itron. “This is a great example of the power of Itron’s developer program as New Cosmos was able to integrate our communication technology with its methane detector to connect this potentially life-saving device to the existing Con Edison smart network.”

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. [NYSE: ED], one of the nation’s largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $12 billion in annual revenues and $50 billion in assets. The utility delivers electricity, natural gas and steam to 3.4 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y. For financial, operations and customer service information, visit conEd.com. For energy efficiency information, visit coned.com/energyefficiency. Also, visit us on Twitter and Facebook