PPL proposes 'smart' grid pilot project
The Allentown, Pa.-based PPL said that the $38 million project would pilot the use of what it calls "smart" technology.
The testing would focus on electric service for 60,000 customers in the Harrisburg area. PPL is applying for $19 million in stimulus dollars.
Hundreds of new electrical devices would be installed and linked to a centralized computer system.
The technology could help appliances use less electricity and detect outages more quickly and isolate them by routing power around them until repairs are made.
PPL provides electric service to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania.
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National Grid and SSE to use electrical transformers to heat homes
LONDON - Thousands of homes could soon be warmed by the heat from giant electricity grid transformers for the first time as part of new plans to harness “waste heat” and cut carbon emissions from home heating.
Trials are due to begin on how to capture the heat generated by transmission network transformers, owned by National Grid, to provide home heating for households connected to district heating networks operated by SSE.
Currently, hot air is vented from the giant substations to help cool the transformers that help to control the electricity running through National Grid’s high-voltage transmission lines.
However, if the trial succeeds,…
