Landis+Gyr, Dominion Launch Energy Saving Solution for Utilities
Landis+Gyr, the world's largest smart meter solutions provider, has announced a partnership with Alternative Energy Solutions group of Dominion Resources, to market a dynamic voltage management solution for electric utilities that automates feeder voltage adjustments using data from smart grid devices. Landis+Gyr is working with Dominion to demonstrate the value of this distribution feeder voltage management application that helps utilities reduce energy use. Under terms of the agreement, Landis+Gyr will act as a strategic marketing and sales partner and will initiate early deployments with new and existing Landis+Gyr customers.
This application takes advantage of emerging smart grid technologies that provide near real-time monitoring and feedback from every energy user on a distribution system. The ability to measure and maintain voltage in an optimum range has the potential to provide significant energy savings. Using information provided by advanced meters, the voltage management application relies on up-to-date information from the customer site to adjust voltage levels automatically from the substation load tap changer controller or line voltage regulator.
"Immediate feedback from customer locations allows us to keep customers in the lower band of acceptable voltage continuously, thereby promoting energy conservation without sacrificing power quality," said Mark Murray, who is responsible for alternative energy business opportunities at Dominion. "We have successfully demonstrated that a 1 percent reduction in voltage equates to a 1 percent reduction in energy. This is a huge opportunity we want to demonstrate more broadly with Landis+Gyr."
Research by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) has validated the concept and benefit of this technical approach. Additional testing has confirmed annualized savings of $300,000 from a single circuit by implementing this solution on a single substation transformer.
Landis+Gyr's advanced residential as well as commercial and industrial meters serve as voltage monitors, while both real-time and stored voltage profile information is managed through Landis+Gyr's Gridstream™ solution software. This information is then paired with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) data from the substation, as well as data from other distribution monitoring equipment to make accurate and timely voltage adjustments.
"Voltage and power factor management are two areas where smart grid technology is leading to significant energy savings and advanced demand management that weren't possible in the past. Our partnership with Dominion is focused on helping other utilities implement similar programs as another way to add value to smart grid investments," said Derek Booth, General Manager of Distribution Automation and SCADA products at Landis+Gyr.
About Landis+Gyr
Landis+Gyr is the leading provider of integrated energy management solutions tailored to energy company needs. With a global presence and a reputation for quality and innovation, Landis+Gyr is unique in its ability to deliver true end-to-end advanced metering solutions. Today, the Company offers the broadest portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry, and is paving the way for the next generation of smart grid. With annualized sales of more than US$1.25 billion, Landis+Gyr operates in over 30 countries across five continents, and employs nearly 5,000 people with the sole mission of helping the world manage energy better. More information is available at landisgyr.com.
About Dominion
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of more than 27,600 megawatts of generation, 12,000 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,000 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system with 942 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 13 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.