Our Climate Change Resiliency Plan

Climate change has caused an increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. In 2023 alone, a record 28 events caused over $1 billion worth of damage nationwide. To address the growing frequency of extreme weather events, we’ve adopted a more forward-looking approach to system resiliency to ensure our energy remains safe, reliable and resilient through the 21st century, and beyond.

What does this mean for you? Fewer power outages when storms strike, and less damage to our equipment—so if the lights do go out, we can make repairs more quickly to get you back up and running sooner.

In 2023, we released our first Climate Change Vulnerability Study (CCVS) and Climate Change Resilience Plan (CCRP) to create an integrated business strategy using climate resilience-driven investments. We continually review emerging climate threats and will update our Plan every five years.

In February 2025, O&R released a revised Climate Change Resilience Plan. This plan, which builds on our prior resiliency efforts, is a comprehensive roadmap of adaptation measures for each climate vulnerability, and the steps we plan to take to address these hazards and continue to provide safe, reliable, and resilient energy to our customers now and in the future.

READ THE CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE PLAN

Our Climate Resilience Journey

Over the past 10 years we’ve invested more than $83 million in New York and more than $58 million in New Jersey to make our systems more resilient.

Additionally, in accordance with state legislation, we collaborated with NYSERDA and Columbia University, with data supplemented by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to develop our first Climate Change Vulnerability Study that, in conjunction with our Climate Change Resilience Plan, evaluates our present-day infrastructure, design specifications, and operations against expected climate changes. 

By gaining insight into the projected impacts of climate changes across our service area—including increasing temperatures, heavier precipitation, and more frequent and intense weather events—we can identify system vulnerabilities and prioritize investments to strengthen our electric infrastructure. 

Our climate resilience approach is to prevent, mitigate, and respond to future hazards and allows us to think strategically and prioritize investments over the next 5, 10, and 20 years. It is the basis for our Resilience Plan.

READ THE 2023 CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY STUDY SUMMARY
READ THE 2023 CLIMATE CHANGE VULNERABILITY STUDY FULL TEXT

Our Initiatives

Our work to make our systems more resilient to the effects of climate change is an ongoing and evolving process. Using the findings from the latest climate studies and projections, we continue to maintain a safe working environment, provide support for our customers and communities, and sustain operational excellence in the face of climate change.

• Adopted a climate change planning and design guideline to refine the tools, methods, and approaches of incorporating resilience and adaptation into the business.
• Established a climate change governance structure to incorporate climate change into existing processes and practices.
• Continue to take proactive steps to increase the resilience of our energy infrastructure by incorporating climate-change adaptation measures, tools, and approaches into engineering and planning.
• Construct new assets and enhance existing infrastructure to better withstand the physical impacts of climate change.
• Implement the resilience investments outlined in the Resilience Plan and maintain a safe and resilient electric grid.

Orange and Rockland Climate Resilience Working Group

Strengthening our electric grid against the impact of climate change and extreme weather requires collaboration between our company, regulators, municipalities, telecommunications service providers, local organizations and customers. In August 2022, O&R convened a panel of stakeholders to serve on the Climate Resilience Working Group (CRWG), which provided input to both the Climate Change Vulnerability Study and the Climate Change Resilience Plan.

Our stakeholder engagement effort is designed to identify stakeholders’ key concerns, challenges, and goals; collect and consider the best and most effective practices and expertise; integrate stakeholder feedback; and provide transparency and insight on the climate study process and outcomes.

If you are interested in joining the Climate Resilience Working Group, or have inquiries regarding our climate study and resilience plan, please email us.