PHILADELPHIA (July 14, 2009) –  All sorts of things can happen to cause power outages – trees can contact aerial utility lines, vehicles sometimes strike poles, birds and squirrels can make the wrong move and trip electrical equipment, equipment fails at times, and wind and lightning can result in power problems, for example.

One approach PECO is taking to improve electric service reliability in some local areas is by making its distribution circuits operate “smarter.” That is, sophisticated smart switches are installed with telecommunications to automatically sense “faults” or problems on a distribution circuit that cause outages affecting customers. The company will invest nearly $4 million this year on its distribution automation, one facet of its annual reliability improvement program.

PECO has more than 1,300 smart switches on its electric distribution system across the Greater Philadelphia region. The company estimates reclosers prevent outages for more than 500,000 customers each year, many more during stormy periods. Each device costs between $50,000 and $65,000 for the equipment and installation takes about a week.

Nearly 50 distribution circuits will be upgraded this year. The company placed the first few devices of this year’s program – known as sectionalizers and reclosers – into service in recent weeks.  All will be operational by end of the year.  PECO is also upgrading telecommunication equipment on existing reclosers to enable them to share information between devices and talk to its central system control computer, making them part of PECO’s ongoing development of a smart grid.

Work is taking place this month in Media, Delaware County; Tredyffrin, Chester County; North Wales, Montgomery County; and in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.

“We are making a concerted effort to improve electric service reliability for customers in the local area.  These devices are proven effective, and they certainly will make a positive impact on service quality for the area,” said John McDonald, PECO vice president, Technical Services.

McDonald said distribution automation improves the utility’s system performance, saves operating costs, and helps to satisfy customers with improved reliability.

Editor’s note: Ever see these large pieces of equipment atop utility poles and wonder what they are? This explains the latest investments in technology for better electric service. With these computer-controlled smart switches, what used to be a sustained power outage only lasts a blink.

Circuits were selected based on the number of customers served and their recent outage history.  The circuit upgrades are planned this year in Delaware County in Chester, Chichester, Bryn Mawr, Woodlyn, Media, Morton, Middletown, Springfield, and Radnor.

In Chester County, customers in Berwyn, Paoli, Malvern, Downingtown, and around Phoenixville will benefit.

In Montgomery County customers will benefit mainly in Horsham, North Wales, Upper Moreland, and in the Plymouth-Whitemarsh area.

Areas of Northeast Philadelphia and Central Bucks also were included in the distribution automation program this year.

The reclosers will break up the length of the circuit and reduce the number of customers affected by problems that cause outages. Reclosers have built-in intelligence to sense when a circuit experiences a fault and activates automatically, most often keeping the lights on for many customers, or transferring customers to an adjacent circuit within minutes.  The devices then communicate this information to PECO’s operations center.  This allows PECO to better pinpoint the problem and dispatch utility crews to make repairs quicker.

A recloser is like the breakers in a home’s electrical circuit breaker box, which control power flow inside the house. When trouble occurs, like an overload, the breaker flips open and power shuts off. In contrast to a household circuit breaker that would remain off until it is manually reset, a recloser automatically tries back and restores power, if the problem has been rectified. So, a momentary outage means the electronics on top of many of today’s utility poles are keeping the lights on.

Distribution automation is one component of a smart grid in the making for PECO. In the electric industry, smart grid technology connects power generation facilities to the end users with advanced controls and telecommunications for enhanced operations, reliability, cybersecurity, and consumer benefits.

Distribution automation is one part of PECO’s overall $400 million capital investment program for this year, which is designed to upgrade and modernize regional utility facilities, improve electric and gas delivery system performance, enhance service reliability for customers, meet the needs of areas with growing use of electric or natural gas, as well as raise operational productivity and energy efficiency.