Smart Wire Grid, a leader in distributed power flow control for the electric grid is dropping the word “Grid” from its name to better align the brand with its mission. As Smart Wires, the company looks forward to pursuing a host of opportunities worldwide to address the challenges of the modern electric utility.
“We feel the name Smart Wires quickly conveys what we do and how our company is leveraging breakthrough technology to address congestion and enhance the performance of our aging electric networks,” said Jim Davis, CEO of Smart Wires. “Our solution changes the way utilities think about power and produces billions of dollars in value for their customers.”
Smart Wires is also proud to announce Tom Voss, former CEO of Ameren and utility industry veteran, as the new chairman of the board. Voss spent the entirety of his distinguished career at Ameren – the leading regional utility company. He joined the company as a student engineer in 1969 – rising through the ranks before culminating his tenure, in 2014, as CEO and President. Voss was instrumental in turning around Ameren’s safety record and establishing one of the safest utilities in the nation. A widely respected leader, Voss is known for his unwavering devotion to his employees and his customers, and made it the goal of his life’s work to provide a safe and reliable electric service.
“There is nothing more satisfying than delivering a quality service to my customers,” states Voss, Smart Wires’ new chairman of the board. “We are quite literally in the business of powering lives. I only wish that I had access to this technology earlier in my career. Smart Wires will empower utilities with a new tool to improve the way they run their businesses.”
Smart Wires’ PowerLine Guardian devices mount directly on transmission lines and allow their operator to reroute the flow of power. Utilities leverage these dynamically controlled “Smart Wires,” distributed across the network, to mitigate congestion, support reliability, manage changing generation profiles, and otherwise enhance the performance of the grid. Congestion occurs when capacity bottlenecks on the electric grid prevent low cost power from serving load centers, resulting in billions of dollars of added costs to electric ratepayers. This congestion problem is also a leading contributor to rising greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.
Utilities around the world are already implementing Smart Wires’ technology to optimize their networks. In New York State, regulatory officials and utility leaders are exploring opportunities to use the PowerLine Guardian to support the goals of the State’s “Reforming the Energy Vision” (REV), which aims to provide a clean, efficient, and cost-effective electricity service. Smart Wires recently completed an expansion of Southern Company’s PowerLine Guardian fleet, and is scheduling its first European installation with EirGrid.
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