Pennsylvania utility plans $664 million smart grid system

SUBNET Solutions Inc | Friday, February 24, 2012

Pennsylvania's PPL Electric Utilities has announced plans for $664 million in capital improvements to its electric grid that services customers in the central and eastern part of the state. The project marks a nearly 50 percent increase in expenditures over last year as the utility works to enhance electric reliability and modernize aging infrastructure.

The overhaul will be comprised of more than 100 local projects to build new substations, upgrade facilities, replace transmission lines, improve distribution networks and install new technologies for improved operations.

"This is much-needed work that will reinforce our regional power grid. These projects represent significantly greater investments in the critical infrastructure for Pennsylvania's economy and will provide hundreds of construction jobs," said David DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities.

The project will allow some 63,000 customers to benefit from automation that will allow sensors, relays and electronic switches to monitor system conditions, communicate with one another and act independently in order to maintain reliable service and avoid outages.

Such projects highlight the need for SUBNET's expertise and solutions, such as its Unified Substation Communications, which allows utilities to install a single intelligent server that can unify all substation data. 

Tags: Substation Automation & Remote Access