The world is undergoing dramatic changes in almost every aspect of human life. New and advanced technologies emerge in every field, from medicine to home appliances. All these changes rely on a fundamental assumption that is absolutely necessary for their occurrence – constant and reliable supply of electricity.
The grid, which is the network that is supposed to provide that electricity, must in turn adapt itself to the needs of the new environment. Simply put – a grid that was designed in the late 19th century cannot be expected to suffice to the needs of the middle of the 21th century.
This recognition gave birth to the “digital grid”, a term used to describe a grid that allows reciprocal communication back and forth between the grid as a distributor and the end user which functions both as a producer as well as a consumer.
The purpose of the digital grid is to manage the distribution of electricity between various sources which supply energy and the consumers of that energy, in an efficient, reliable and cost-effective manner.
Achieving this goal requires the following a great deal of remote sensing that collects big data in high resolution and at the right time, either according to a predetermined schedule or in real time. After the big data is collected by a communication system, it needs to be analyzed in order to create useful information and commands for the grid management system to operate by.
EGM’s Meta-AlertTM System provides utilities with those abilities. The system’s sensors are placed on power lines in selected locations and collect big data. But as opposed to other data collection systems exist today, EGM’s Meta-AlertTM System also performs the analysis of the big data, which is critical for a digital grid.
EGM’s Meta-AlertTM System enables utilities not only to operate in a digital grid environment, but also to fully realize its potential and opportunities in terms of resilience, reliability and cost-effectiveness.