PPL Electric Utilities has received the Southeastern Electric Exchange (S.E.E.) Chairman's Award for its technology that safely and automatically cuts power to downed power lines.
This award, which is designated by the S.E.E. conference chairman, honors the one project that is deemed most outstanding out of all this year's category winners. PPL's Automatic De-energization of Downed Conductors (ADDC) technology was recognized as the winner of the safety category and then honored with the Chairman's Award.
"Nothing is more important than engineering a safe grid for our workers, customers, and the public," said PPL Electric Utilities President Steph Raymond. "We have built upon existing technology and infrastructure to add groundbreaking new features that automatically detect and respond to live downed conductors. The initiative is part of PPL's continued efforts to innovate for a safer, smarter, more reliable future."
Building upon Schweitzer Electric Laboratories ArcSense downed wire detection technology, PPL engineers were able to develop and implement this new advanced technology on nearly two-thirds of its distribution grid. Now, with more than 2,300 grid devices programmed with downed wire alarming and 1,500 devices able to cut power to downed lines, PPL has substantially decreased the odds that such an event would create a potentially harmful situation for employees or the public. Since its implementation in 2019, the innovative ADDC technology has triggered to successfully prevent six instances of these potential hazards.
