Gridmetrics, Inc., a company that monitors and tracks the status of the distribution portion of the power grid, recently announced the launch of its first product, the Power Event Notification System (PENS).

PENS utilizes a unique dataset to provide near real-time, hyperlocal insights into the availability and quality of power from the electrical grid. By providing an observational view of the state of power in the last mile of the distribution grid, PENS aids in the identification of power vulnerable populations or facilities. The system can also alert utility companies and organizations responsible for emergency response, corporate security, situational awareness, public safety and business resilience when outages occur.

Gridmetrics is an Esri-certified partner and now offers PENS, including a free trial, in the Esri ArcGIS Marketplace for inclusion in existing Esri solutions. Esri is the leading supplier of geographic information system software often used for public safety, situational awareness and emergency response applications.

"Gridmetrics represents one of the most requested datasets during response and recovery - namely, real-time, localized power status. Power is a primary lifeline evaluated during times of crisis and, unfortunately, it is often the least visible," said Ryan Lanclos, director of Public Safety at Esri. "Gridmetrics is a game-changer for the world of emergency response and public safety."

Gridmetrics notes that the benefits of PENS include the following:

• Five-minute updates - PENS scans nearly 300,000 sensors every five minutes to deliver near real-time notification of power events.
• Hyperlocal outage resolution - PENS utilizes the U.S. National Grid projection, which is a 1 km x 1 km grid overlaid on a map of the U.S.
• Independent data source - PENS complements outage insights from utilities and other data sources.
• Out-of-band sensors - PENS leverages sensors that are orthogonal to the utility network.
• Expansive coverage - PENS' growing sensor network maps to where people live and work across the continental U.S.
• Resilient sensors - PENS sensors have backup power, enabling uninterrupted communications.

"While almost 90% of all power outages occur in the distribution portion of the power grid, there remains a significant lack of visibility into the status of power availability and quality in the last miles of the electrical distribution grid," said Scott Caruso, president of Gridmetrics. "Until the launch of PENS, there was no comprehensive, independent source for power event insights. By aggregating data from communications networks, PENS delivers critical new insights down to the neighborhood level and does so in near real time. Our partnership with Esri makes adding the PENS data layer to an existing dashboard, decision support tool or situational awareness application simple, fast and easy."

Gridmetrics notes that PENS sensors are contained in the network equipment servicing the last mile of communications delivery and do not include any personally identifiable information. Delivered as an email alert, an Esri Feature Service Layer or a custom API, near-instant PENS notifications are based on an area of interest, event threshold or potential impact on power-sensitive populations or facilities. Because PENS offers such hyperlocal visibility, the system is extremely well suited for situational awareness, public safety, emergency response, or monitoring critical infrastructure and corporate assets.

More information about PENS is available at www.gridmetrics.io

Source: Gridmetrics