The Big Pivot

INTRODUCTION

Signals from a New World

NEW YORK, NEW YORK.    At 9:00 p.m. on October 29, 2012, an explosion rocked the Lower East Side of Manhattan. An electric substation belonging to New York utility Consolidated Edison (ConEd) had gone up in flames after the rising seas from Hurricane Sandy flooded the building. A large portion of the world’s most recognizable skyline went dark for four days, including ConEd’s headquarters. In just a few weeks, ConEd lost $2 billion of market cap (one-eighth of the company’s value).¹

ConEd estimated that it would spend $550 million after the storm, only a fraction of the $6 billion (at least) lost by other businesses in the region. New York State would ask for $42 billion in aid to repair housing, infrastructure, ...