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October 03, 2012

Space-Time Adds Analytics to Southern California Edison's Smart Grid Demo

Southern California Edison (News - Alert) Company (SCE)—one of the largest U.S. electric utilities, serving nearly 4.9 customer accounts– has selected Fremont, California-based Space-Time Insight’s geospatial and visual analytics software to provide a centralized view of multiple technologies, assets, and services deployed within its state-of-the-art Irvine [California] Smart Grid Demonstration (ISGD) project.

Funded 50 percent by The American Recovery and reinvestment Act of 2009 and the U.S. Department of Energy, the $79 million ISGD project is designed to test and validate a variety of existing and emerging advanced smart grid technologies within a controlled environment. SCE deems the next-generation technologies essential to meeting state and nationwide objectives regarding smart grid deployments and reduced carbon emissions.


Image via Nasa

The technology demonstrations comprise three main areas:

  • Energy Smart Customer Devices—such as smart appliances, home scale energy storage, and photovoltaic (PV) solar systems— to achieve zero net energy homes and zero-grid-impact electric vehicle (EV) charging at work;
  • A Year 2020 Distribution System, including distribution automation with looped circuit topology, advanced voltage/VAR control, advanced distribution equipment, smart metering, utility scale storage and dispatched renewable distributed generation; and
  • A Secure Energy Network, to validate end-to-end management of a complex, high-performance telecommunication system linking the California ISO to SCE’s back office, field networks, and energy smart devices in the home

Space-Time Insight’s situational intelligence solution will serve as the “eyes of” this innovation initiative—enabling project stakeholders to quickly visualize, evaluate and plan to implement a diverse array of components; and assess how they are performing within a sophisticated smart grid.

“In line with our mission to provide reliable service to our customers, our aim with ISGD is to apply a variety of cutting-edge smart grid technologies that are modernizing how energy is generated, transmitted, distributed and consumed,” said Doug Kim director, Advanced Technology, Southern California Edison. “With so many integrated technologies, we need a visualization and analysis system capable of giving us insight into what’s working, what’s not, and how we can continuously improve the interconnectivity and interoperability of all the systems involved in the project.

ISGD involves a number of disparate components that produce large volumes of data in a range of formats at different times.Space-Time Insight will be used to visualize, correlate and analyze the data from all of these interconnected platforms. Using Space-Time Insight’s software, SCE will be able to understand critical aspects of the smart grid—such as the impact of electric vehicles on off-peak energy consumption, the cost and emissions savings of circuit voltage optimization, and many of the potential distribution system benefits. The results and findings will be of significant value to the broader smart grid at SCE, and in various statewide and nationwide initiatives.

“In complex operational environments like ISGD, understanding how all the pieces relate and impact each other is essential. Using situational intelligence, SCE will be able to quickly analyze the performance of all assets within the smart grid, from end-to-end—a capability that has never before been offered in a single application,” said Rob Schilling, CEO, Space-Time Insight, adding, “[We are] honored to be a part of this amazingly forward-thinking project, and we look forward to helping SCE create a showcase that will serve as a model for the rest of the nation.”

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Edited by Brooke Neuman
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