NorthWestern Energy Selects CURRENT Group’s Distribution Grid System Optimization Solutions That Will Enable NorthWestern Energy to Minimize Feeder Losses and Reduce Load Demand Through Voltage Reduction

GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CURRENT Group has been selected by NorthWestern Energy to deliver CURRENT’s Distribution System Optimization products and services that will enable NorthWestern Energy to reduce technical losses, optimize feeder voltage profiles and reduce system load through advanced voltage optimization automation.

“CURRENT is pleased to be selected by NorthWestern Energy to deliver a market-ready hardware and an integrated real-time software analytics solution that will allow NorthWestern to leverage their distribution grid to reduce energy consumption by 3 to 5 percent.”

NorthWestern’s project will roll-out later this year as part of the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project. CURRENT will be providing its intelligent grid sensors and its OpenGrid™ software platform that features Volt/VAR Control and Dynamic Voltage Optimization using Dynamic Measurement and Verification through a real-time power flow and grid state estimation engine, and will also be providing project implementation, software installation and configuration along with certain systems integration and development services.

“There has been significant focus on both transmission and ‘smart meters’ over the last 24 months. Both are clearly part of the evolution toward an efficient, reliable, clean electricity sector. Research is showing that multiple billions of dollars of benefits are available today from investment in technology between the sub-station and the meter. NorthWestern Energy and the Pacific Northwest Demonstration Project are great testing beds to prove out this value that can be realized quickly, affordably and in a measurably verifiable way,” said Tom Casey, CEO of CURRENT. “CURRENT is pleased to be selected by NorthWestern Energy to deliver a market-ready hardware and an integrated real-time software analytics solution that will allow NorthWestern to leverage their distribution grid to reduce energy consumption by 3 to 5 percent.”

“NorthWestern Energy is looking forward to working with CURRENT Group as we evaluate and implement this pilot project. CURRENT is a leading provider with solutions that meet our business requirements for affordability, ease of deployment, and who has demonstrated leadership in the development of a measurement and verification system that will assist us in validating the benefits of this project,” said NorthWestern Energy’s Manager of Distribution Engineering, George Horvath.

NorthWestern Energy is participating in the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project designed to expand upon existing electric infrastructure and test new smart grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states.

About CURRENT Group

CURRENT Group, LLC delivers innovative and industry-leading intelligent solutions that optimize the distribution system and offer utilities new ways to monitor and manage the health of the grid. Through CURRENT’s distributed sensing, monitoring, and analytical technologies, utilities are better able to understand, predict and respond to system disturbances and faults, identify where inefficiencies are, and enable the smartest possible sourcing and distribution of power.

CURRENT’s state-of-the-art technologies are being implemented by utilities around the globe and are being utilized in the largest and most advanced demonstration projects in the world. CURRENT is engaged in European Union-sponsored projects in partnership with Iberdrola, the world’s 4th largest electric utility, among others, to expand the use of Smart Grid technology in the European Union. This year, CURRENT was selected for the second year in a row as one of GoingGreen East’s Top 50 Private GreenTech companies. In 2009 alone, CURRENT was honored by the World Economic Forum as a 2009 Technology Pioneer, selected by Venture Beat as one of the World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Smart Grid companies, and selected by Dow Jones as one of the Top 10 most Innovative Clean Technology companies in Europe.

CURRENT is a private company founded in 2000 that is backed by leading investors including Liberty Associated Partners, EnerTech Capital, Google, Inc., and Goldman Sachs & Co.

CURRENT is headquartered outside of Washington, DC, with offices throughout the United States and Switzerland and Singapore, and has representation in Australia, France and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit http://www.currentgroup.com.

About NorthWestern Energy

NorthWestern Energy is one of the largest providers of electricity and natural gas in the Upper Midwest and Northwest, serving approximately 661,000 customers in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. For more information about NorthWestern Energy, visit our Web site at http://www.northwesternenergy.com/.