Verizon drives smart grid technology of the future with Peninsula Light Company

Verizon has been chosen to update Washington State’s Peninsula Light Company (PenLight) power distribution system with Verizon’s Grid Wide Utility Services Intelligent Energy platform.

Electric meters equipped with Verizon cellular connectivity will replace end-of-life meters in the homes and businesses of over 33,000 PenLight members. The meters can then be managed using Verizon’s Grid Wide platform.

Grid Wide is a managed, cloud-based, Internet of Things (IoT) platform-as-a-service solution developed by Verizon to help utilities modernize their systems. The solution allows utilities to remotely configure, monitor and manage end-points within their service areas, creating operational efficiencies and improving customer service across the board.

Members of PenLight - a member-owned electric cooperative serving the communities of Gig Harbor and the Key Peninsula in Washington - will benefit from improved meter reporting and billing accuracy, and better power outage management, including improved outage identification, confirmation and response time.

“Utilities want to offer customers the benefits of IoT technologies, but can face costly infrastructure upgrades to do so,” said Steve Szabo, head of Verizon’s Global IoT Products & Solutions group, adding that, “Verizon’s Grid Wide Platform-as-a-Service is a highly scalable and robust environment that combines a rich, world-class IoT application suite with the nation’s largest, most reliable 4G LTE network. With near real-time data, Peninsula Light will gain the insights it needs to improve operational efficiency, control costs and offer an even higher level of service for its members.”

“Verizon’s Grid Wide solution offers us a reliable, secure, managed cellular-based platform via which to run our distribution network,” responded PenLight’s CEO, Jafar Taghavi. “We’re building on our already strong relationship with Verizon, with Grid Wide. The solution perfectly addresses our appetite for more system data as it relates to voltage, power quality and incremental demand, and offers reliable inputs to our outage management system.

“Grid Wide is the continuation of a journey for us as PenLight develops more efficient energy delivery options,” Taghavi added. “Our Board of Directors has long supported our search for innovative ways to further improve the reliability and service we give to our members. Grid Wide allows our operations team to see issues earlier and respond faster while also helping keep costs low and service delivery as high as possible. Perhaps most importantly, Verizon’s solution gives us the ability to remain nimble within the rapidly changing dynamics of the electric utility industry.”

Verizon is actively working with a number of utilities to enable technologically advanced systems by leveraging its world-class 4G LTE network and expertise in security technology. Verizon Grid Wide extends operational visibility and management capabilities with the goal of simplifying, accelerating and enhancing grid transformation.