Hoboken to Pioneer 'Smart Grid' Technology to Protect Against Power Outages

Hoboken will take a historic step toward energy resiliency Thursday morning when it partners with a number of energy agencies to develop a "smart grid" system that could protect the city from prolonged power outages caused by storms or other electrical disruptions.

"We’re going to be doing an evaluation of our entire electrical grid and evaluating the potential for a Microgrid system, so that parts of Hoboken could literally operate off the grid through a storm," Mayor Dawn Zimmer said. 

Representatives from the city, the U.S. Department of Energy, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, PSEG and Sandia National Laboratories will meet at City Hall Thursday at 10 a.m. to participate in a signing ceremony before heading out for a bus tour of an electric substation in town.

Zimmer said that by entering into this pact Thursday, Hoboken would be setting an example for the rest of the country by becoming the first non-military application of Sandia National Laboratories' Microgid methodology.

According to its website, Sandia's Microgrid design uses a decentralized approach that involves integrating "backup generators, local PV systems, small wind turbines, electrical energy storage, etc., into a local electrical distribution service area," to improve the reliability and resiliency of the electric grid.  

"I'm very excited that this is a tremendous opportunity for Hoboken," Zimmer said. "[Energy resiliency] is a major, major issue. If we can figure out a way to be much more energy resilient that will really help Hoboken going forward."