Duquesne Light Company is preparing to install tens of thousands of smart meters across its service territory to help identify problems that can lead to outages.
It’s part of a multi-year, $40 million effort to increase capacity and resiliency on the regional electric grid. The utility plans to deploy up to 30,000 meters at homes and businesses starting in October.
Half of the funds come from a federal grant awarded through the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program. Katie Jereza, assistant secretary for the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, visited DLC on Wednesday to highlight the work.
She said economic developments — such as advanced manufacturing and data centers — are demanding more from the aging electric grid and the fastest way to accommodate that demand is to upgrade the existing infrastructure.
“The technologies that they’re using today — it maximizes what we have in a shorter timeframe so that we have a solid foundation to grow for the future,” Jereza said.
Josh Gould, director of advanced grid solutions and strategic planning at DLC, said the meters will work alongside dynamic line rating sensors on transmission lines to give the utility better insight into real-time conditions.
“What that means is we can better flag and identify issues as they occur, which means more reliable service. [It] also means better use of our existing infrastructure to give you an affordable product,” Gould said.
He added the new technologies won’t prevent outages, but they will help crews respond faster and more accurately when they occur.
The sensors and meters also help DLC understand how much capacity is available on power lines. The utility said that can pave the way for the grid to accept more power, particularly from clean energy sources. The tech can also support faster connection times for new electric users.
Gould said the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships Program is a “nice instance” of bipartisanship. The program was launched under the Biden administration and continued under the Trump administration.
While President Joe Biden emphasized electric grid improvements as a way to increase renewable energy, Gould said there is also value in the initiative for the current administration as it seeks to add power from fossil fuel and other sources with an emphasis on affordability.
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