Eaton has been awarded a multi-million-dollar project to deliver grid modernization solutions for Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) in Washington state.
Over the next four years, Eaton will help the utility implement smart grid technology across its 6,000-mile distribution system to improve visibility and control capabilities, reduce outage duration and mitigate wildfire risk, the company said.
Eaton is providing intelligent control and automatic circuit recloser technologies to support the utility’s broader SnoSMART initiative, a $60 million infrastructure modernization project that aims to improve system reliability and wildfire protection.
The project is partially funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and Eaton’s regional manufacturing capabilities help ensure compliance with the program’s domestic content requirements.
“Eaton’s significant, long-standing investments in U.S. manufacturing and research and development are helping us meet unprecedented customer demand for our utility solutions advancing electrification, grid modernization and energy resilience,” said Jason Plane, utility segment manager at Eaton. “We have engineered a tailored solution for the PUD that can be quickly deployed to accelerate a stronger, safer energy future for communities everywhere.”
A key objective of the PUD’s SnoSMART initiative is to achieve a 25% reduction in outage duration across its distribution network. Eaton research shows that using reclosers to provide transient fault protection on the entire distribution system can improve outage rates by 50–90%.
In addition to automatically interrupting faults and restoring power after momentary outages, reclosers also reduce the duration of fault energy to help mitigate the risk of overhead distribution systems causing wildfires.
“We are deploying Eaton Nova NX-STS reclosers in areas of our service territory that face the greatest reliability challenges and wildfire risks,” said PUD’s John Hieb, P.E., distribution automation project manager. “By integrating wireless communication capabilities, we can remotely monitor and control this equipment in real time – enabling faster outage response and proactive wildfire mitigation that will strengthen grid resilience and enhance safety for our customers.”
Snohomish PUD is the 12th largest public power utility in the nation and second largest in Washington state, serving reliable and affordable electricity to the 880,000 residents of Snohomish County and Camano Island since 1949.
