The Consumer Power Quality Index (CPQI) is the first resource of its kind to deliver accurate, ongoing, objective visibility of power quality across the U.S. electrical grid.
GERMANTOWN, Md., Oct. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- According to a new Consumer Power Quality Index, Nevada Power, Idaho Power, Portland General Electric, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, and San Diego Gas & Electric represent the top five in delivering the best power quality to consumers during August. On the other end of the spectrum, Centerpoint Energy, Florida Power & Light, Duke Energy Florida, Tampa Electric, and Commonwealth Edison delivered the poorest power quality experience, with homes experiencing the highest frequency of power surges, brownouts, and outages/interruptions.
Whisker Labs, inventors of advanced home fire prevention and grid monitoring technology, unveiled a new open online resource documenting the quality of power delivered to homes by major U.S. electric utilities. The first of its kind, the Consumer Power Quality Index, or CPQI, is updated and published monthly. The new index summarizes key power quality indicators detected and measured by Whisker Labs' Ting Sensor Network, which already includes over 150,000 sensors and is set to increase tenfold in the next 12 months. The network detects and localizes in real-time hundreds of daily grid faults experienced by homes and has already identified and helped local utilities mitigate potential wildfire ignitions in high-risk communities.
The CPQI is part of Whisker Labs' suite of tools designed to provide much-needed awareness about electrical equipment and infrastructure status, both in homes and on the power delivery system that serves them. In addition, whisker Labs is working with select utilities to help them proactively address issues, inform and prioritize grid investments, and measure their impact.
"Our Ting technology is proven to prevent home electrical fires, and we are thrilled to see the network effect generate granular and valuable monitoring of our nation's electrical grid, says Bob Marshall, CEO and founder of Whisker Labs. "The level of signal detail is beyond what we expected, providing incredibly accurate visibility into grid and utility performance. Ting Network data will help stakeholders modernize and transform the grid to meet the needs of our future society."
Billions of dollars are being invested in grid expansion, maintenance, and modernization to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, electrify buildings and vehicles, and integrate clean energy and energy storage. And the quality of power delivered to homes and businesses is one of the most effective indicators of the health of this increasingly complex power grid. For example, a recent report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Societal Costs of Power Quality Disturbances, estimates the cost to U.S. businesses alone across all industrial sectors is likely between $145 billion and $230 billion per year.
Beyond a monthly report, the CPQI will serve as a key input to decision-making, such as funding and resource prioritization, and inform how grid improvement projects impact power quality over time. "Improving the grid is a multi-decade, multi-faceted challenge," continued Marshall. "With the CPQI and our patented technology, we're proud to help lead the way in electrical fire safety and grid monitoring. We are delighted to be able to deliver this benefit to consumers, businesses, communities, utilities, safety organizations, and regulators," says Marshall.
About Ting
Proven fire prevention innovation with over 1.2 billion monitoring hours, Ting has helped reduce home fire losses across the U.S. with over 2,000 documented and mitigated electrical fire hazards. Ting sensing technology measures electromagnetic data of the home electrical network and everything connected to it to detect potential fire hazards. It simultaneously measures power quality delivered to homes by the electric utility, expertly identifying grid faults and dangerous power conditions along transmission and distribution infrastructure, including at the 'grid's edge.'
About Whisker Labs
At Whisker Labs, our passion lies in creating better ways to solve longstanding problems. We help protect our customers, homes, and communities by preventing fires and providing key visibility into the health of the U.S. grid. Ting unlocks incredible insights into electrical anomalies in very fine detail, in real-time, from a single DIY sensor, enabling intelligent detection, localization, and mitigation of hazards before they can start a fire. While looking for home electrical fire hazards from faulty wiring, devices, or appliances, Ting also monitors the quality of power delivered by the electric utility, identifying utility grid faults that can induce fires, damage appliances, and create electrocution risks inside the home. These same faults can also serve as an ignition source for devastating wildfires.
Media Contact
Joe McNulty, Whisker Labs, Inc., 1 301-305-9323, [email protected]
SOURCE Whisker Labs, Inc.
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