Rockland Electric has always been a reliable partner in promoting the economic growth and vitality of Bergen County and its communities. They’re a valued ally in retaining businesses and ensuring the county’s economic health. Beth R. Gorin, President, Bergen County Economic Development Corp. in Stony Point, New York, and a transmission substation upgrade in Haverstraw, New York. O&R also completed upgrades that doubled the capacity of both the Oakland and Upper Saddle River distribution substations in Bergen County, New Jersey. In preparation for summer 2004, the company is nearing completion on a new, large distribution substation in Chester, New York. Through measured investments in its unregulated businesses, Con Edison participates in new markets and offers new services to governmental, indus- trial, commercial, and residential cus- tomers. The unregulated businesses often work in concert to provide com- prehensive solutions to customers’ evolving needs. In 2003, O&R also re placed more than 100,000 feet of gas mains and more than 1,300 service connections to customers’ homes. To  accommodate growth, the company upgraded 15,000 feet of existing gas supply mains and extended the system to serve new subdivisions. O&R has initiated a number of signifi- cant technological enhancements that are driving impr ovements in both electric and gas operations. For example, 2003 saw expanded use of digital equipment and automation technologies that pr ovided more and improved data on every aspect of the system to operators, resulting in increased reliability and safety. Our focus on maintaining reliability and safety also brings benefits to the environment. For the third consecutive year, O&R won the Tree Line USA Award from the National Arbor Day Foundation, in r ecognition of an active and sensitive right-of-way vegetation management program. Con Edison’s Competitive Businesses Con Edison Solutions provides a wide range of energy procurement and management services that help cus- tomers take advantage of opportunities created by the new competitive energy landscape. In 2003, the company continued to expand its retail energy business. The Durst Organization, a large New York City commercial real estate owner, selected Con Edison Solutions, in partnership with Community Energy, Inc., to provide 10.5 million kilowatt-hours of “green power” for seven high-rise office buildings in Manhattan, making it the largest commercial wind power customer in the state. Con Edison Solutions also began offering electric power in 2003 to government and commercial customers in upstate New York and New Jersey. As an example, the company was recently awarded a contract by Monmouth County, on Bed 1 10 Con Edison Annual Report 2003