Minnesota Power and Smart Wires completed the installation of a deployment of PowerLine Guardians in Little Falls, Minnesota, on a 115 kV circuit.
The installation occurred over a three-day period in December and the units were placed into operation in early 2017. Part of the Smart Wires Guardian product family, this technology increases a line’s reactance, pushing power away from that line and onto other underutilized paths on the grid.
“Minnesota Power is committed to delivering security, comfort and quality of life to our customers. The integrity and reliability of the grid is a huge part of that. Smart Wires’ technology is very aligned with the execution of our mission and vision,” said Brad Oachs, who oversees Minnesota Power as President of Regulated Operations of ALLETE.
In-line with their EnergyForward strategy, Minnesota Power is leveraging Smart Wires’ technology to increase the utilization of existing assets and save their customers money. This solution alleviates the need to reconductor the line, a time- and labor-intensive installation of new wires and poles.
“We have a deep commitment to delivering a high-quality product on-schedule, because we understand the external forces that exist on our customers such as weather, outage windows, crew availability, endangered species cycles and more. The innovation and excellence at all levels within Minnesota Power made the hardware and software installation seamless and easy. We look forward to continuing to meet every expectation in this important partnership,” commented Randy Sprout, Smart Wires COO.
By deploying Smart Wires technology, Minnesota Power joins a group of leading utilities leveraging these solutions to create a flexible, dynamic grid.