By Robert Cruickshank, Ph.D. & Nicolas Metts, Cable Television Laboratories; Paul Schauer, Comcast Cable Communications; Curtis Snyder
The newly available Gridmetrics data platform dramatically improves the situational awareness of the electric power grid worldwide by providing an entirely new and independent view of real time, localized power conditions. Gridmetrics data deliver insights enabled by the existing cable broadband infrastructure that measures, monitors, and tracks the availability and stability of voltage and other power measures in the last mile of the grid known as the secondary distribution network. Voltage measurements can reflect stresses on the grid and provide an early warning of unstable, unsafe, or inefficient operating conditions. Insights include specific locations on the grid where voltage observations are abnormally high, low or fluctuating, and provide much needed visibility to the vast majority of the grid, which heretofore has been sensor starved. Analysis reveals voltage anomalies and outages that likely impact customer experience, safety, and equipment longevity.