Hugh O’Kane ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC.

Nestled in the heart of Greenwich Village, New York University (NYU) graduates thousands of students every year with Visual and Performing Arts; Social Sciences; Business, and many more degrees. But in the fall of 2012, NYU taught all of Manhattan and its surrounding boroughs a lesson in engineering and why it’s important to plan ahead. Years prior, NYU started upgrading its outdated Co-Generation (co-gen) plant system. It was not only time for its aging oil-fired-based power network—nearing the end of its life—to be replaced, but it needed to be upgraded to ensure more of the campus was covered, sufficient backup was in place and available for emergencies, and had a more robust power source in place that would comply with future standards and requirements. At the time, no one was thinking about hurricanes or other natural disasters that if experienced, could sever power and incapacitate the campus and surrounding neighborhoods. This upgrade also aligned with New York City’s PlaNYC Cli...