Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems has completed a report tied to a UAMPS Gridware Pilot Project to implement and evaluate an advanced grid monitoring system that provides real-time, continuous monitoring of utility poles and distribution infrastructure.
APPA on Nov. 20 will be hosting a webinar related to the project.
The project was funded in part by APPA’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments program. The DEED program provided $54,400 for this project.
A final report prepared for the DEED program notes that the UAMPS Gridware Pilot Project “offers insights into the applicability of advanced grid monitoring technology for utilities facing challenges related to aging infrastructure, environmental risks, and grid reliability.” The report said that the project demonstrated the utility of Gridware’s continuous monitoring system, specifically designed to detect early signs of mechanical and environmental stress on utility poles and distribution equipment.
“By providing real-time, on-site data through pole-mounted sensors, the Gridware system enabled participating utilities to address potential hazards before they escalated into outages or safety risks. This pilot demonstrated that other utilities, particularly those in high-risk or remote areas, could benefit from adopting similar systems. Continuous monitoring could replace traditional, less frequent inspection methods, offering a more proactive approach to grid maintenance and reducing both operational costs and the risk of major disruptions,” the report said.
All utilities with overhead distribution networks are susceptible to disruption from a myriad of unplanned factors including: weather-related events, vegetation and wildlife contact, equipment failure, human activity, and wildfires, the report notes.
“Each of these events pose different challenges to maintaining grid reliability, accordingly this pilot seeks to test the continuous monitoring and predictive maintenance technology found in the Gridware System, to help prevent and quickly address potential outages.”
The utilities participating in this pilot program “each have unique challenges and sought to test a technology to increase system situational awareness and improved grid reliability,” the report said.
The four participating utilities -- Brigham City Power, Washington City Power, Lehi City Power and Springville City Power -- all had their own use case objectives and each deployed 50 Gridscopes (Gridware’s small pole-mounted, self-powered continuous monitoring devices) on their respective systems to test the technology.
The utilities are members of UAMPS.
In terms of achieving the project’s objectives, the pilot program succeeded in enhancing system reliability and situational awareness across the four participating utilities, the report said.
Each utility was able to monitor critical areas of their grid, improving response times, protecting their respective communities, and reducing downtime in the event of faults.
Since deployment, across all cities, there were a total of 20 emergent events and 29 non-emergent events, leading to a cumulative total of 49 events. Some emergent events were categorized as events that could have been severe but were identified and mitigated before escalating to life-threatening occurrences.
“As a recommendation, utilities looking to implement similar technology should focus on areas with a higher likelihood of grid failures, such as regions susceptible to environmental events, in more rural/remote/high risk areas or around aging infrastructure. Additionally, the simplicity of the system’s installation, powered by small solar panels, makes it an appealing option for utilities looking to enhance grid resilience without significant infrastructure overhaul or integration costs,” the report said.
While not all utilities experienced the same level of benefit from the Gridware Pilot Program during the pilot period, it was beneficial to all participants (each experienced between 11-13 events), the report said.
Washington City and Brigham City both avoided major events of potential consequence using the system, while Lehi saw less benefit largely due to the install locations and less consequential events at the monitored area. The final report is available to DEED members through the DEED program’s project library (project number 2580).
The DEED program funds research, pilot projects, and education to improve the operations and services of public power utilities.
