Prisma Photonics Ltd and Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) have signed a pilot agreement to supply monitoring services for IEC's electrical power transmission grid. The collaboration has started as a part of Israel's Innovation Authority's program to run pilots in governmental companies and national infrastructure. Moving on from that beginning, these days, more than 100 km of transmission lines are being monitored.
PrismaPower uses the preexisting optical fiber network deployed as part of IEC's transmission grid. The system identifies safety events such as inflicted damage and climbing on power towers, detecting electrical faults, short circuits, partial discharges, and alerting on extreme weather conditions, strong winds, lightning strikes near the power lines, and more. Monitoring the optical fiber also protects from physical interferences to the communication infrastructure.
PrismaPower turns the optical fiber network into a set of highly sensitive distributed sensors detecting and pinpointing events to power tower locations in real-time. That's without any extra sensor installation on the powerlines or towers. It is remote sensing for hundreds of kilometers, all the time, everywhere, and in any weather.
The solution is based on award-winning, patented technology and is the first-ever system to monitor the entire overhead electric grid using optical fiber sensors. It is an important step forward in the collaboration between the two companies. In addition, it demonstrates IEC's commitment to leveraging innovation to ensure the transmission grid's safety, integrity, and functionality while remaining environmentally responsible.
"In keeping with its innovation strategy, IEC is constantly looking for new, innovative and creative technological solutions for its core business," said Amir Livne, Senior VP of Strategy, Innovation and Restructure process, IEC. "As a leading energy company, we welcome the cooperation with Prisma Photonics, as part of our partnership with startup companies to strengthen our abilities to provide reliable, high quality, readily available electrical power."
"A cooperation between a government-owned corporation and a start-up is not obvious," said Dr. Eran Inbar, Prisma Photonics' CEO. "It shows the commitment to the changes in the local and global energy ecosystem and the openness to embrace innovation. We want to thank IEC for their trust in us and see this as the first step in a joint journey ahead."
