Consolidated Edison, Inc.
An uncooperative or malicious drone at a critical, Secured Tier 1 ConEdison energy facility poses a disruption to service and physical danger to the operations of the New York City electrical grid. New York City is mostly designated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a “No Fly Zone” for drones. With international airports, stadiums, and critical infrastructure throughout the region, unauthorized drone activity disrupts a myriad of essential services and threatens the continuity of service for 10 million customers in ConEdison’s service area.
ConEdison approached Dedrone to create a customized airspace risk assessment to understand the nature of drone activity near a critical site. ConEdison installed a DedroneSensor at their secure facility to begin their airspace activity assessment and establish baseline data of drone activity. ConEdison’s drone vulnerability assessment reveals essential information, including drone type, how often, and at what times drones are appearing at this Secured Tier 1 facility. This data helps ConEdison correlate drone activity with any activity within the organization, such as security shift changes, shipments, or significant business or public events. With this data, ConEdison immediately responds to drone activity and applies new airspace activity information to their standard operating procedures.
After the threat profile has been completed, ConEdison’s security managers make data-driven decisions on whether they need to implement additional counter-drone sensor technology to gain situational awareness and take further action to protect their critical sites. As additional sensors are integrated into the Dedrone platform, built-in predictive analytics help local authorities identify popular takeoff and landing locations to directly approach and apprehend unlawful drone pilots resulting in investigations or prosecution. Drone incursions at energy facilities are a preventable problem that will continue to persist and escalate. In order to stay ahead of the drone threat, ConEdison has taken action to extend their security strategy into the airspace and further protect the New York City electrical grid for their 10 million customers.
After years of researching the counter-drone market, ConEdison has identified Dedrone as the market leader and our choice for complete airspace security. The first step in ConEdison’s complete airspace security program with Dedrone is to define all drone activity in our area. By using Dedrone’s airspace security technology, ConEdison integrates real airspace data into our security processes and responds immediately to any drone activity.
Scott Gross, Security Manager
