Line Sensing Technology
Risk Reduction Category
Technology Description
Gridware is a tech startup out of California, having designed a unique, multi-detection monitoring tool for overhead lines that does not fit into any single functional category. The Gridscope is designed for mechanical and electrical anomaly detection, fault detection, fault location, and automatic categorization of the condition. For example, it can distinguish between vegetation and animal contact, as well as line breaks, pole tilt, insulator failure, conductor clash, and a variety of other conditions. Because of its fault locating capability and deployment density, crews are directed to the precise location of the issue, without scouting the line, and can arrive with the equipment and materials needed to address the specific issue.
The hardware is typically installed on every other pole, each unit having multiple monitoring variables such as vibration, spatial orientation, and electric field sensing. It is a completely wireless sensing unit in that it has no externally connected probes or taps. Additionally, it is powered from solar energy and communicates wirelessly in a mesh configuration and outbound to the Internet using cellular communications.
Monitoring of the hardware is currently provided as a service, where the vendor alerts subscribing utilities of detected conditions via telephone. Communication by telephone is viewed by the vendor as an air gap that avoids complications with IT and cyber security. Similarly, the inter-communicating hardware on the poles avoids these same issues by communicating independently of SCADA.
Technical Readiness (Commercial Availability)
Gridware https://www.gridware.io
The Gridware system is in commercial production with utilities in 6 states having deployed them: Washington, California, Utah, Colorado, New York, and Georgia.
Implementations/Deployments
ConEdison and EPRI participated in a pilot project with Gridware in 2023 [1]. In this pilot, ConEdison installed 100 sensors in storm-prone areas. During the demonstration period, they received 3 alerts which were verified by ConEdison as accurate with no false or inaccurate alerts.
EPRI Testing
EPRI conducted a series of blind tests involving several field applied scenarios shown below. The Gridscope device and software was able to accurately determine the event type and time for each test including whether the line was still energized on the ground or not. Several of the live test did not draw enough fault current to trip the 40T fuse nor the hotline tag enabled U4 curve of the upstream recloser.
Vegetation drop on de-energized three phase line
Energized 13.2/23 kV bare conductor break onto grass
Energized 13.2/23 kV & 7.2/12.47 kV bare conductor breaks into asphalt.
Innovations as of Mid 2023
Potential Enrichment Work Opportunity
Having the solar power and the communications at every pole or every other pole, an opportunity exists to add environmental sensing such as wind speed, humidity, and the like, in order to feed models for fire risk and spread.