Silver Spring Networks, Inc. and CPFL Energia have announced the successful completion of the Grupo A client smart grid rollout in the state of Sao Paulo. The next phase, which calls for CPFL to implement the smart grid for Grupo A clients in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, is expected to bring the total number of commercial and industrial customers connected to over 25,000 by the end of 2014.
CPFL also expects to leverage the already installed Silver Spring networking platform for an initial project to deploy the smart grid to residential, low-voltage customers later in 2013. CPFL further expects to partner with Silver Spring on an initial distribution automation project that will automatically reinstate itself in case of failure, redirecting energy flows though alternative channels to increase service reliability. This distribution automation project will also leverage Silver Spring’s standards-based network already in place.
“As a part of CPFL`s Tauron infrastructure modernization initiative, we’ve devoted much of our investment to this smart grid program,” said Paulo Bombassaro, engineering director at CPFL Energia. “CPFL’s success leading the first commercial-grade smart grid deployment in Brazil is based on the IPv6 platform from Silver Spring, and our customers are already reaping the benefits today.”
“We congratulate CPFL on its initiative to modernize its power infrastructure,” said Nelson Fonseca Leite, President of ABRADEE (Brazilian Association of Energy Distributors). “CPFL has built a successful smart grid deployment case and demonstrated that this is a sustainable concept.”
CPFL’s Tauron Program was created to improve grid reliability, speed up response time, optimize on-site operations, and protect group revenues. During this phase of the program, CPFL is already seeing the initial results, including:
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Performance and reliability of its network based on Silver Spring’s IPv6 platform is providing unparalleled success rates of 99.8%
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Reductions in the volume of fraud and number of faults, which can now be rapidly identified and corrected by transferring data of the smart metering system every 15 minutes
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Heightened consumer control and management of their energy usage particularly during peak power usage
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Upon the project’s anticipated completion in 2014, CPFL expects to have eliminated 25,000 truck rolls per month, which are currently required to read legacy meters
