The Grid Defender

How does the Grid Defender® meets the Government’s key objectives to modernize the grid?

To modernize the grid, the report outlines 6 main priorities:

1. Manage Risk

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The Grid Defender® system will permit power transmission and distribution lines to be taken offline in a controlled sector prior to catastrophic failure.  This allows them to return to service in hours rather than days or weeks down to a specific pole.

2. Consider Cost-Effective Strengthening

The system can be retrofitted onto existing distribution poles and provides significant risk reduction at a tenth of the cost of putting lines underground.

3. Increase System Flexibility and Robustness

The system has real-time sector controls and allows only those areas that are compromised to be shutdown and lines lowered out of harms way.  Power can remain on in unaffected sectors.  After the threat passes lines are visually inspected, returned to aerial status and power restored.

4. Increase Visualization and Situational Awareness

Each pole is equipped with sensors that transmit instant feedback to central control as to the impact of wind/heat or ice on the lines.  It provides pinpoint accuracy, down to an individual line on a specific pole, on outages. ICE_DAMAGE

5. Deploy Advanced Control Capabilities

Commands can be transmitted from a central site to take one or more sectors offline.  The system can also be manually activated by field personnel or triggered by predetermined stress levels on the cross arms themselves.  Sensors on individual poles can detect impacts, such as from a car crash, and cut power to the lines before they come down.

6. Availability of Critical components and Software Systems

The crossarm assemblies can be retrofitted to existing sensors or introduced with new construction.  Once deployed the data from each pole’s sensors can interface with “Smart Grid” and software systems.

Click here to read the Grid Resiliency Report from The Government