Open Systems International, Inc. has been selected by Consumers Energy to provide a Volt/VAR Optimization System based on OSI's state-of-the-art monarch platform. Consumers Energy is Michigan's largest electric and natural gas utility.
The VVO system will provide Consumers Energy with a centralized automation solution to monitor real-time power distribution system information and remotely monitor and control capacitors and regulators to improve voltage quality, reduce losses and manage reactive power flows. The system will have two-way communications with the new devices that Consumers Energy is deploying through the next several years as part of the company's Grid Modernization efforts.
Consumers Energy's new VVO system is based on OSI's monarch platform and includes the advanced functionality of OSI's next-generation, Microsoft .NET based Graphical User Interface (GUI); Advanced Alarm Management System; Volt/VAR Control and Optimization; and Conservation Voltage Reduction products.
"We are investing significantly in modernizing the electrical grid to improve service to our customers," said Raymond Klavon, Executive Director of System Control & Electric Automation at Consumers Energy. "The VVO system will allow us to utilize the new intelligent grid devices we are installing to operate the system more efficiently by reducing energy losses and improving power quality."
