GRID20/20: GRID2020 and SMUD Tag Team Power Theft

Intra-Grid Sensors Identify Nearly $400K of Illicit Activity

RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRID2020, Inc. (http://www.grid2020.com/), a leading distribution transformer monitoring solutions provider released a statement today regarding its ongoing collaborations with Sacramento Municipal Utility District (http://www.smud.org/) (SMUD).

Alan Snook, President GRID20/20 stated, "As we continue to introduce our OptaNODE^TM intra-grid sensor solution into domestic and international markets, it is incredibly rewarding to see our utility customers achieving substantial success.   We have recently announced various utility success stories to the marketplace, and SMUD's latest achievement is yet another that deserves recognition."

Throughout the last year, the Revenue Assurance team at SMUD has been leveraging GRID20/20's OptaNODE^TM DTM and PDTM sensors to identify power theft within its grid space.   While the efforts have been very surgical in nature, the results have been exceptional.

Dan Miller, Supervisor Revenue Assurance at SMUD commented, "We strategically deployed a series of OptaNODE^TM devices into our grid beginning in 2015.  Since then, we have identified and shut down $376,652.42 of power theft." 

Power Theft, which is touted by some to exceed $6 billion per year in the U.S. alone, is a perpetual concern for utilities.   Not only are there significant costs associated with the stolen power, but a series of related operations impacts that subsequently burden electricity providers.   In essence, distribution transformers are initially sized by utility operators to service the anticipated loading for the respective location.   However, when power theft occurs, excessive unplanned loading then negatively impacts the associated transformers.   This type of unauthorized power demand commonly overloads transformers beyond their rated performance levels.  Often this can result in premature aging of transformers, and eventual power outages. 

With the introduction of intra-grid sensors such as the GRID20/20 suite of devices, utilities can now effectively locate instances of power theft, and help to avoid the excessive costs that ultimately effect rate payers.  Using the GRID20/20 solution, utilities can now cost-effectively embrace a proactive posture and prevent unnecessary cost burdens from landing upon their valued customer's monthly billing statements.

GRID20/20 provides a growing list of value propositions for electricity providers by effectively leveraging transformers within the distribution grid.   The accurate, timely data captured from within the heart of the grid enables utility operators to directly and immediately create operations efficiencies, reduce power outages, and decrease unnecessary losses.

For more information about GRID20/20, visit www.grid2020.com (http://www.grid2020.com/).

K.B. Forbes,
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Source: GRID20/20 via Globenewswire

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