On April 24, 2012, S&C Electric Co. and electric power provider EPB installed the final IntelliRupter PulseCloser as part of a smart grid project in Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
The event, “Powering the 21st Century: The Role of the Smarter Grid,” featured a live onsite installation of the final IntelliRupter PulseCloser, a central component of EPB's self-healing grid, which is expected to reduce outage duration by 40%.
“Home to the country's most automated smart grid of its size, Chattanooga is a unique success story in how the smart grid can be an economic engine, reduce power outages, improve reliability and prepare for future power demands,” said EPB CEO Harold DePriest.
EPB's smart grid uses a high level of smart grid automation that allows the grid to automatically respond to disturbances and minimize electric service disruptions. IntelliRupters communicate with one another through a high-speed fiber-optic communications network to determine the location of the event, and then automatically isolate it and reroute power to restore electric service to customers.
According to an Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study, the national cost of power interruptions for business and residential consumers is about US$80 billion annually. FINASmart devices installed out on the grid carry and direct the flow of high-voltage electricity even under the most adverse weather conditions, and rapidly and automatically respond to system conditions to reduce outage durations or prevent them altogether.
“To compete in the global economy, it's crucial for communities like ours to ensure their electric power grid can deliver the high reliability and efficiency needed today,” said DePriest. “Grid-based developments improve the reliability of our power service without asking business or consumers to change consumption habits or report outages.”
For more information, visit www.sandc.com.
