GridSense, an Acorn Energy company, announced that two major utilities will use LineIQ overhead line monitoring to reduce chances of outages.
GridSense is based in Sacramento, Calif. Acorn is headquarted in Montchanin, a community near Wilmington, Del. and invests in young companies that monitor and manage energy and infrastructure.
To gain intelligence at unmonitored substations in a cost effective manner, two US utilities will deploy the GridSense Line to monitor but before they reach—the substation. That reduces costs that would come from more expensive meters.
“It was only through working closely with the utilities that we realized how serious an issue this was,” says Brandy Henson, GridSense sales manager. “The two utilities helped us understand how we could extend the product to offer a unique response to a surprisingly common problem.”
The utilities chose LineIQ because it allows them to leverage their substations’ existing communications networks, even cellular, WiFi, or wireless networks.
“LineIQ’s self-powered mechanism, expansive communications options and advanced sensing capabilities are providing new ways to identify issues before they become outages,” says Henson. “In unmonitored substations, the industry needs the smart grid benefit of practicing preventive maintenance instead of reactive repair. LineIQ now provides that in a way that’s more cost-effective than previously thought possible.”
