G&W Electric Looks to Boost Smart Grid Capabilities Through Safegrid Acquisition
Grid manufacturer G&W Electric announced the acquisition of Finnish power grid management company Safegrid to expand its digital and analytics capabilities. In a recent release, G&W stated that the move would support its long-term strategy across utilities to increase reliability and high-voltage distribution and transmission networks.
Safegrid has provided intelligent grid monitoring solutions across Finland, with locations in Espoo and Turku. The G&W acquisition now further accelerates those solutions capabilities in the U.S.
Prior to the acquisition, G&W had reportedly been a strategic partner and shareholder of Safegrid, piloting the technology with utility customers. Safegrid’s Intelligent Grid System combines instant-on wireless sensors, designed for rapid deployment, with analytics that claim to deliver real-time insight into grid conditions. This essentially helps utilities identify emerging issues to reduce the anticipated time of outages and improve overall asset health.
G&W says the Intelligent Grid System technology has been widely adopted by utilities in not just the Finnish region, but is also gaining momentum in the U.S., Europe, and the Asia-Pacific (APAC). These capabilities are expanding as the need for grid sustainability in the U.S. grows amid aging infrastructure and power demands for data centers and manufacturing.
“As power distribution systems are becoming more complex and more critical, utilities need deeper, faster insight into what is happening in their networks,” said John Mueller, chairman and owner of G&W Electric. “We have seen through our partnership with Safegrid how their technology complements what we do.”
Although financial terms were not reportedly disclosed, G&W aims to leverage its power grid automation with Safegrid's advanced sensing and data to deliver grid solutions geared for future electrification needs as energy demand surges.
“Their (G&W Electric’s) industry experience, customer relationships, engineering depth, and presence in over 100 countries create new opportunities to bring our technology to utilities worldwide,” Paula Laine, CEO of Safegrid, said in a statement. “We are excited to work as one team to address the evolving challenges facing power distribution networks.”
In April, G&W launched a research community called PowerVoice to conduct a monthly survey, bringing industry experts together to provide input on how grid demand is evolving across utilities. It’s another way G&W is working to incorporate data-driven insight and management tools to navigate across the power ecosystem to meet electrification requirements.
