Dominion Voltage Inc. (DVI), a Dominion company, has been awarded a U.S. patent for its EDGE technology that enables electric utilities to plan, manage and validate voltage conservation for grid optimization.
DVI says utilities with advanced metering infrastructure can take advantage of this technology and its energy-saving benefits immediately. According to the company, the industry standard permits voltage to be delivered at a range from 114 V to 126 V, with the center point at 120 V. DVI says its EDGE platform enables the utility to optimize the voltage delivered to the customer toward the lower end, while still complying with customer equipment performance requirements.
DVI’s EDGE platform is designed to enable utilities to realize savings through voltage conservation by reducing their fuel and purchased power costs. EDGE PLANNER works with existing system planning tools and processes to make the conservation voltage reduction business case circuit by circuit. EDGE MANAGER has been designed to integrate into existing distribution control systems, and EDGE VALIDATOR calculates actual savings from EDGE or other demand-side programs.
"Unlike other voltage conservation processes that have been in use for decades, DVI's EDGE technology is the only platform to obtain voltage data directly from dynamically selected meters at the end-user level," says Phillip W. Powell, DVI director of grid innovations. "This allows for a more precise and more efficient delivery of electricity to customers."
