Con Edison operate one of the world’s largest energy delivery systems. Founded in 1823, they now provide energy for over 10 million people in New York City and Westchester County, New York.
An innovative energy company, they’re always looking for new technologies to provide cleaner, more efficient energy choices. As a result, they’ve converted 5,200 buildings from oil to natural gas and they’ve reduced their carbon footprint by 49% since 2005. In 2018, they also acquired solar and wind projects worth $2.1 billion, which brought their total renewable portfolio to 2,600 megawatts. This means they’re now the second largest solar producer in North America.
The communities that Con Edison serves are highly diverse. To accommodate people of all languages, cultures, and abilities, the company is piloting an exciting new programme where it is placing LanguageLine On-Demand Video Interpreting in six walk-in centres across New York City’s five boroughs and Westchester County.
To use the technology, visitors simply press a button on a tablet indicating their preferred language. Within seconds, a live, professional LanguageLine video interpreter appears on the screen, ready to assist them with their needs.
The programme will empower mutual understanding between service representatives and non-English speaking, deaf, and hard-of-hearing customers.
“It’s fantastic that we can address each and every concern (a customer may have), whether it has to do with safety or their bill” Con Edison’s Evelyn Escobar said.
WATCH THE VIDEO: Con Edison Helps Non-English Speaking and Hearing Impaired Customers
Known as LanguageLine InSight, the application delivers on-demand video interpreting in 36 languages, including American Sign Language and British Sign Language for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers. It also provides one-touch, audio-only interpreting in more than 240 languages.
“We always have to think about the communities we serve” Con Edison Community Service Representative Patrick Prieto said. “We want to give alternate options to anyone that comes through our walk-in centres.”
For Escobar, the technology is especially personal because her brother is deaf.
“I grew up seeing his need to communicate (and) his need to have others understand him” she said. “I think (this technology) is very important. It’s close to my heart.”
LanguageLine Can Help
LanguageLine On-Demand Video Interpreting empowers understanding across multiple industries, including healthcare, government agencies, emergency services, and retail. The application works on laptops, tablets, and smartphones, meaning users have the ability to put the power of LanguageLine’s 11,000 interpreters in their pockets.
We would love to learn more about your organisation and the challenges you may be facing. Please contact us to schedule a consultation at your convenience.