RESTON, VA — (Marketwired) — 10/02/13 — ., the industry leader in redefining the global standard for reliability at the world–s largest electric utilities and telecommunications providers, announced today that it has been recognized by this year–s Fierce Innovation Awards: Energy Edition, a unique industry awards program powered by the publishers of FierceEnergy and FierceSmartGrid. Tollgrade–s industry-leading , consisting of and Sensor Management Software (SMS) with received top honors in the “Substation Automation and Distribution Automation” category. According to the Edison Electric Institute, 90 percent of outages occur on the distribution network. The LightHouse solution, which is deployed outside substations and along feeders on the distribution network, helps utilities increase reliability by identifying and locating faults to reduce outage time and providing real-time monitoring to balance loads and protect the life of substation transformers.
Winners were selected by an exclusive panel of judges including Robert Hance, President & CEO, Midwest Energy Cooperative; Ted Reguly, Director of Customer Programs & Projects, San Diego Gas & Electric; and Cheri Warren, Vice President, Asset Management, National Grid. Judges evaluated submissions based on technology innovation, financial impact, market validation, ability to integrate into existing power infrastructures, and end-user customer experience.
“We–re thrilled to receive this year–s top honors in Substation Automation and Distribution Automation from FierceEnergy. These market segments represent the biggest opportunities for growth in smart grid investments over the next 10 – 15 years,” said Edward H. Kennedy, CEO and President, Tollgrade Communications. “The fact that we were recognized as the leading solution in both of these important categories by a panel of executives from utility industry leaders is further validation of the strength of our platform and makes this award even more meaningful to us.”
Jason Nelson, Publisher of FierceEnergy and FierceSmartGrid said, “Our awards program is a celebration of the work that innovative companies are doing to develop the technologies that will propel the power industry into the future. We were thrilled to offer the companies developing these products an unparalleled opportunity to have their services reviewed by utility industry decision-makers.”
Tollgrade–s LightHouse solution is helping utilities solve the real-world challenges that impact the reliability of the distribution grid. This next-generation distribution monitoring solution provides real-time grid intelligence using data gathered wirelessly from sensors that sit on the medium voltage grid. Combined with predictive analytics software, LightHouse monitoring allows utilities to protect high-value assets, detect outages before customers call and, in many cases, prevent future problems.
Tollgrade is the only sensing solution to deliver grid visibility down to three amps through inductively powered sensors that eliminate the maintenance costs required to support battery-powered alternatives. The LightHouse platform combines its highly accurate and easy to deploy sensors with an analytics software package that classifies grid conditions from permanent faults to power quality events like momentaries. This grid health data can be analyzed so utilities understand more of the “cause and effect” behind disturbances that lead to outages or equipment failures. Within the software, customizable rules can be defined to alert utilities to inefficient operating conditions, subtle system failures, or indications of anomalous behavior that are early indications of future outages. During an outage, visualization tools pinpoint locations to reduce drive and restoration times. The solution is used by some of the world–s largest Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), Distribution System Operators (DSOs) and municipalities to reduce outage minutes, improve reliability metrics, balance loads and protect important assets like substation transformers.
This is the fourth award Tollgrade has received in 2013 for their innovations in the smart grid. Earlier this year, the company was recognized by Red Herring, received the 2013 Smart Grid Product of the Year Award from TMCnet and was voted one of the Top 13 Smart Grid Companies to watch in 2013 by Smart Grid News. In June, analyst firm IHS recognized Tollgrade as the market share leader in smart grid sensors in 2013. To learn more about Tollgrade, visit .
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With over 200 million lines under test, millions of utility outage minutes avoided annually and 25 years of experience successfully locating faults at the world–s largest electric utility companies and telecommunication service providers, Tollgrade is redefining the global standard for reliability. Our award-winning fault detection hardware and predictive analytics software is deployed on four continents to help operators avoid network outages and reduce customer downtime. Tollgrade has been recognized as one of the Top 13 Smart Grid Companies to Watch in 2013 by SmartGrid News, received the 2012 Smart Grid Product of the Year from TMCnet and is a 2013 Red Herring 100 Finalist. Learn more by visiting
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CNC Associates
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Anne-Laure Leroyer
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