PECO builds “Smart” grid in Downingtown
I found this article last week. Interesting idea.
PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–All sorts of things can happen to cause power outages – trees can contact aerial utility lines, vehicles sometimes strike poles, birds and squirrels can make the wrong move and trip electrical equipment, equipment fails at times, and wind and lightning can result in power problems, for example.
One approach PECO is taking to improve electric service reliability is by making its distribution circuits operate “smarter.” That is, sophisticated smart switches, also known as reclosers and sectionalizers, are installed with telecommunications to automatically sense “faults” or problems on a distribution circuit that cause outages affecting customers.
The switches, which break up the length of the circuit, have built-in intelligence to sense when a circuit experiences a fault and activates automatically, most often keeping the lights on for many customers, or transferring customers to an adjacent circuit within minutes. The devices then communicate this information to PECO’s operations center. This allows PECO to better pinpoint the problem and dispatch utility crews to make for repairs quicker.
In Chester County, customers in Berwyn, Paoli, Malvern, Downingtown, and around Phoenixville will benefit.
