PPL Electric Utilities smart grid helped avoid more than 1 million outages since 2015

Published on September 04, 2020 by Chris Galford


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Thanks to a smart grid automated power restoration network put in place in 2015, PPL Electric Utilities of Pennsylvania reports that it has helped avoid more than 1 million customer outages.

“This is a milestone born of innovation and imagination, one we believe has no equal in the U.S. utility industry,” Greg Dudkin, PPL Electric Utilities president, said. “It represents our commitment to using technology to benefit our customers and to providing superior reliability.”

The network is a mix of sensors, switches, and advanced software systems connected to the power grid that allows for instant rerouting of power during trouble periods and the containment of outage areas. Coupled with rebuilds of aging power lines and the addition of storm-resistant wires and poles, equipment maintenance and more, the company estimates its initiatives have spared customers more than 190 years worth of time in the dark.

These reliability efforts, including the smart grid gains, have helped PPL reduce the average frequency of outages by nearly a third since 2011.