Tantalus Systems recently announced that California public power utility Riverside Public Utilities has selected Tantalus as its technology partner to expand its grid modernization efforts.
“The deployment represents a major step forward for RPU to improve the reliability and resiliency of its distribution grid,” Tantalus said.
In 2019, RPU entered into an agreement with Tantalus to begin executing its 10-year strategic plan, called Utility 2.0, which was designed to address many challenges facing RPU and the utility industry.
One of RPU’s original goals for Utility 2.0 was to extend the life of the utility’s existing encoder receiver transmitter metering infrastructure while laying the foundation to embrace sustainability initiatives and reliably enhance their customers’ experience.
Initially, RPU deployed Tantalus’ ERT-overlay capabilities to automate the reading of its existing ERTs without having to remove and replace existing infrastructure.
The insights gathered through the initial investment in Tantalus’ technology led their team to approve a multi-year project to replace 80,000 legacy ERT devices with advanced metering infrastructure at a time that was best for the utility. “This undertaking represents the largest ERT-to-AMI migration in Tantalus’ history,” Tantalus said.
“Over the past several years, our utility extended the useful life of our infrastructure through Tantalus’ ERT-overlay offering,” said Jennifer Tavaglione, Manager, Technology Innovation from RPU.
“By allowing us to expand the value from our existing infrastructure while still making progress towards grid modernization, we were able to allocate resources to other important initiatives and upgrades," she said. "Tantalus’ flexibility and willingness to collaborate with our team throughout our grid modernization journey is a testament to their commitment to meeting utilities where they are and not forcing premature replacements of existing infrastructure.”
