Southern California Edison Co. has selected Space-Time Insight’s geospatial and visual analytics software to provide a centralized view of multiple technologies, assets and services deployed within its Irvine Smart Grid Demonstration (ISGD) project. Space-Time Insight’s situational intelligence solution will serve as the “eyes of” this innovative initiative, enabling project stakeholders to quickly visualize, assess and plan to implement a diverse array of components—ranging from smart meters and advanced distribution equipment to renewable power sources, security networks, energy-efficient home appliances, solar systems, electric vehicles and more—are performing within a sophisticated smart grid.
Funded in part by The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the U.S. Department of Energy, the ISGD project is designed to test and validate advanced smart grid technologies within a controlled environment. The effort is central to SCE’s vision of safely delivering reliable and affordable electricity, from generation and transmission, to distribution and consumption of energy by homes, businesses and vehicles. ISGD includes a variety of existing and emerging technologies that SCE deems essential to meeting state and nation-wide objectives regarding smart grid deployments and reduced carbon emissions.
ISGD involves a number of disparate components that produce large volumes of data in a range of formats at different times. This includes data produced by consumer devices such as smart appliances, photovoltaic solar systems and electric vehicles; feeds coming from advanced transmission and distribution equipment, smart meters and renewable power sources; and information generated by a complex high performance telecommunication system linking the California Independent System Operator with SCE’s back office, field networks and more.
Space-Time Insight will be used to visualize, correlate and analyze the data from all these interconnected systems and technologies. Using Space-Time Insight’s software, SCE will be able to understand critical aspects of the smart grid, such as the impact of electric vehicles on off-peak energy consumption, the cost and emissions savings of circuit voltage optimization, and many of the potential distribution system benefits. The results and findings will be of significant value to the broader smart grid at SCE, and in various state- and nation-wide initiatives.
