Duquesne Light Co. working on safer underground cable network

Duquesne Light Company (DLC) announced Tuesday it is partnering with Exelon to strengthen the underground electrical grid and improve worker and public safety.

DLC said it had selected two solutions in its public crowdsourcing innovation challenge – “Monitoring Electrical Cable Challenge: The Future of Underground Inspection” – that focus on creating a safer and more reliable underground electric network. After months of testing and evaluation DLC and Exelon chose two final candidates to test. Both finalists will now move into the final round of the challenge where they will test their prototypes through a pilot deployment on a utility network. The pilots are expected to be judged in the fall and the winner is anticipated to be determined in November.

“DLC is committed to investing in innovation and bringing in new, diverse methods to solve various challenges that face our industry,” Brian Guzek, DLC’s vice president of corporate strategy, said. “In partnering with other electric utilities during this challenge, we have found solutions that can have a significant and positive impact on our operations as well as worker and public safety.”

DLC launched the challenge in December of 2021, which attracted submissions from around the world for the $750,000 prize package.

“Exelon’s utilities derived great value from engaging in this unique innovation challenge,” Chris Burton, Exelon’s vice president of special projects, said. “Our collaboration with Duquesne Light Company has enabled sharing perspectives on emerging solutions to our operational challenges. Monitoring our underground infrastructure with new innovative technologies will help us deliver better reliability and affordability to our customers.”