VIDEO: People Who Power New York: "Lifeguards of the Grid"
Our operators who oversee New York’s power grid are like “a lifeguard on the ocean,” says Jon Sawyer, Director of Grid Operations at the NYISO. “You're monitoring, you're tracking, but when an emergency happens ‘right now’ you've got to go do something.”
Serving on a submarine in the U.S. Navy led Jon to connections that eventually resulted in his joining the NYISO’s fast-paced control room. That was in June 2003. Less than two months later, a transmission line fault in Ohio caused by contact with a tree cascaded into what would become one of the largest outages in North America.
Today, Jon oversees a team of operators who are tasked with making sure that millions of New Yorkers can enjoy the many comforts of modern life that the electric grid provides.
With the addition of renewable energy resources, the grid is more complex than ever. In this video, Jon talks about the intensive testing operators undergo to prepare for the job of monitoring the electric system and the teamwork that goes into solving real-time challenges when they arise.
Meet Jon Sawyer, Director of Grid Operations, one of the People Who Power New York. Watch now.
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