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The imperative to modernize is clear. Yet knowing the need and meeting it are two different things. Public power utilities today face growing pressure to modernize aging grids at the very moment federal support is being reduced. Recent cancellations of billions of dollars in clean energy and grid improvements have left utilities balancing essential modernization needs against shrinking federal and state resources.
For most utilities, that means the question isn’t whether to modernize, but how to deliver improved reliability and resilience within genuine constraints. For utilities caught between run-to-failure legacy practices and the pressure to transform, the answer lies in scaling — starting with where you know you need help most, proving the value, then expanding systematically as results and budget can justify further commitment. It is a grid modernization strategy designed for how utilities actually operate.
Lateral protection as a case study
Consider overhead laterals — often the most outage-prone segments of the distribution system. Conventional fuses do their job, but they cannot distinguish between a temporary fault and a permanent one. A squirrel, a wind-blown branch, a momentary contact — any of these will trip the fuse, and customers sit in the dark until a crew arrives to replace it. Multiply that across hundreds or thousands of laterals, and the cumulative impact on reliability metrics, O&M costs, customer satisfaction, and overall resilience adds up fast.
Single-phase reclosers change the equation by bringing fault-testing to the lateral level. Devices like S&C's TripSaver® reclosers automatically restore power after temporary faults before they become sustained outages and isolate permanent faults to minimize outage impact. They can mount in cutouts, require no communication infrastructure to deliver value, and can be deployed easily and incrementally.
- Start with what you know. Most utilities already know their worst-performing laterals — the ones that generate repeat truck rolls, the feeders that drive SAIFI and SAIDI numbers, the areas where service calls come from most. That is enough to start a pilot with devices deployed in targeted locations.
- Prove your case. When you strategically place TripSaver reclosers in areas of your grid where they are likely to operate, you'll have the data you need to build your business case within three to 12 months. Data from TripSaver reclosers can be easily collected using sensors, meters, or by pulling device analytics to measure impact and show the value of expansion.
- Expand systematically. This approach expands with you. You can start with a handful of devices on your most troubled laterals and scale from there. As you gather performance data, each deployment informs the next. Over time, you build not just a more reliable grid, but a deeper understanding of where future investments will deliver results. Because these devices reduce truck rolls, your crews spend less time chasing temporary faults and more time on proactive maintenance and system improvements.
Alabama Power proved the model
The utility began with a pilot of 20 TripSaver® II Cutout-Mounted Reclosers in the Birmingham area. After one year, those 20 devices saved nearly 107,000 customer minutes of interruption and avoided more than $15,000 in O&M costs. That initial success justified an expanded deployment of 100 units across the state.
The results were striking: a 70% improvement in SAIFI and 57% improvement in SAIDI on protected laterals. Customers who had been experiencing sustained outages more than twice a year saw that drop to once every three years. With proof in hand, Alabama Power committed to installing more than 1,500 reclosers annually over 10 years as part of its grid modernization program.
Flexibility is the point
Grid modernization doesn’t have to mean rebuilding everything at once.
When less capital is available, incremental investments with compounding benefits are crucial. What makes this approach powerful is its adaptability. It bolsters your system where it’s needed most, proving value at each step, and scaling as conditions warrant. And every investment in reliability and resilience has a direct positive impact on the community you serve. That is a modernization strategy built for today’s utilities.
Learn how S&C's lateral protection solutions can help you scale your modernization strategy and build toward a more resilient grid at sandc.com/lateralautomation.
