UISOL Named a Supplier in DOE Smart Grid Demo

UISOL will provide its DRBizNet® software platform for integrating and managing demand response in a project involving utility Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR), Eaton Corporation (NYSE: ETN) and lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel in Salem, Ore.

The demonstration project will serve residential and business customers in this service area to document the impact of smart grid technologies on managing seasonal peak demand when integrating variable renewable power (wind power, solar energy) resources with battery storage, peaking distributed generation and customer-sited equipment into the electrical system.

The Salem study is part of a larger Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project that gained one of the 16 grants announced by the DOE on Nov. 24, funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. These funds are in addition to the smart grid project grants announced earlier in November. Total estimated cost for the project is $178 million. DOE will provide half the funding while the project’s participants, primarily utilities and industry team members, will provide the remaining funds.

The Northwest study will involve more than 60,000 metered customers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Using smart grid technologies, the study will test new combinations of devices, software and advanced analytical tools that enhance the power grid’s reliability and performance.

UISOL will participate with the project team to implement technology throughout 2010 and 2011. The Project will then gather performance data over the next several years from Salem and 14 other test sites that represent the region’s diverse terrain, weather and demographics. The entire project will involve more than 112 megawatts of power, enough to serve 86,000 households.

Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a fully integrated electric utility that serves approximately 818,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit our Web site at PortlandGeneral.com or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pgemedia.

Utility Integration Solutions, Inc. (UISOL) is the utility industry business integration specialist. UISOL offers a range of services and integration solutions to help its clients transform their business performance through the power of smart integration for demand response, smart grid, advanced metering, meter data management, market operations and more. UISOL’s DRBizNet is the leading software platform for demand response management and the integration of distributed energy resources in the utility industry. Visit www.uisol.com