The company said with Power Tagging’s technology, utilities would know immediately about changes in electrical flow on the circuit between a customer’s home or business and the neighborhood substation, pinpoint problems and needed repairs, and manage specific consumer electricity demand.
Dominion studied Power Tagging’s patent-pending Grid Location Aware technology through its alternative energy system group.
Dominion said that it formed the group last year to provide technology research to support its business units, identify business opportunities, participate in the nation’s energy policy development process, and provide an information and idea-sharing forum within the company on conservation and load management and renewables.
Mary Doswell, senior vice president of alternative energy solutions of Dominion, said: ”Power Tagging offers a key to opening a world of improved energy information and customer service through the smart grid.
”We anticipate that for the first time, utilities will be able to measure, trace and audit the flow of electricity on the smart grid – in effect, to ‘tag’ it and follow it – with a technology that is embedded in the power grid itself rather than on a parallel communications network. This should improve the flow of information and help provide cost and environmental benefits.”
