On-Ramp Wireless Partners with GridSense to Develop Wireless Smart Transformer Monitoring

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On-Ramp Wireless today announced its partnership with GridSense to develop the first affordable utility distribution point monitoring system. The comprehensive system for distribution automation combines the GridSense TransformerIQ^TM platform with On-Ramp's Ultra-Link Processing^TM (ULP) system. This enables utilities to cost-effectively deploy secure and reliable monitoring throughout their distribution network to accomplish asset monitoring, fault indication to improve outage restoration, alert to power quality issues, capture power theft and act as a hub for demand-side load management all with a single wireless device.

“Together we will enable monitoring on below-ground transformers, without external antennas, which have previously been unreachable by wireless technology.”

For electric utilities to effectively monitor their distribution transformer fleet, a low-cost, high-capacity network is required. On-Ramp’s ULP system can support 20,000 TransformerIQ monitors per Access Point. This provides capacity to spare for other distribution automation applications, and securely deliver transformer data to a utility’s back office OMS/DMS and other systems.

Specific monitoring parameters will include transformer monitoring features previously only associated with substation transformers as well as current, voltage, power factor, accumulated reactive and active power addressing potential power theft, and fault indication alerting utilities of failures with alarm notifications. This powerful sensing and reporting solution enables utilities to improve SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) metrics through predictive maintenance, enabling intervention prior to failure, and monitor remaining transformer life lost and load profiles.

The demand for distribution asset management is on the exponential climb due to electric vehicles and charging stations being deployed at many residential points, adding additional load to the current infrastructure. GridSense TransformerIQ offers a quick retrofit solution onto existing energized distribution transformers, enabling a lower cost system upgrade without the impact of an outage or downtime. Working with GridSense, On-Ramp is providing utilities with the resources necessary to effectively monitor their distribution assets and improve their performance and bottom lines.

“By partnering with On-Ramp, we are able to provide utilities with next-generation ‘smart enabled’ transformers, capable of providing access to a large network of assets,” said Lindon Shiao, CEO of GridSense. “Without this information, they risk their reliability standards and their customers’ satisfaction.”

“This partnership will bring substantial and long-awaited benefits for utilities,” said Joaquin Silva, president and CEO of On-Ramp. “Together we will enable monitoring on below-ground transformers, without external antennas, which have previously been unreachable by wireless technology.”

On-Ramp and GridSense will jointly pilot the Smart Transformer monitoring solution in Q2 2011.

About On-Ramp Wireless

On-Ramp Wireless has developed the first wireless system purpose-built to efficiently connect billions of hard-to-reach devices in metro scale and other challenging environments. On-Ramp’s field-proven Ultra-Link Processing™ system enables low-power monitoring and control applications within Smart Grid, water efficiency, industrial sensing, and location tracking. Operating in un-licensed spectrum, our signal processing innovation finds weak signals even in high noise environments, yielding extreme coverage, immunity to high interference, and significantly lowers cost. For more information, visit www.onrampwireless.com.

About GridSense Inc.

Utilizing in-depth industry knowledge and understanding of utility requirements, we provide technology and services that help our customers address the limitations of an old and aging infrastructure. Since the company’s beginnings in 1974, GridSense has developed and successfully commercialized ‘world first’ technology such as continuous sampling and adaptive sensing into advanced line sensors. We apply experience and technical know-how with new thinking and ideas to create intelligent, reliable and leading-edge technologies that continue to add value to our customers’ businesses and shape the future of the modern power system.

Working in partnership with our customers and other trusted industry professionals, GridSense provides a range of monitoring solutions from portable rugged devices through to some of the world’s most complete, powerful network monitoring systems on Transformers. Integrating advanced sensing and measurement capabilities with remote communications and computing technologies, GridSense has developed a range of offerings that address all the critical points along the electricity delivery system. Our growing product and services portfolio is driven by the passion of our employees to continue creating solutions that comprehensively meets and exceeds the current and future needs of our industry.