BPL Global Brings Intelligent Diagnostics Technology to Transformer Monitoring

PITTSBURGH, March 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BPL Global®, Ltd. (BPLG), a smart grid technology company and leader in electric utility transformer monitoring, announced today that it entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Arizona Public Service Company (APS) for its patented Transformer Oil Analysis and Notification (TOAN) technology. In combination with its market leading Serveron® line of transformer monitors, BPLG will utilize the TOAN technology to enable utilities to improve reliability, increase productivity and reduce capital costs by accessing best-in-class diagnostics to extend transformer life. The integration of TOAN into BPLG's fleet of transformer monitors will allow utility asset managers to monitor the health of power transformers — one of the industry's largest cumulative investments and most expensive and critical individual item — with unprecedented information.

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In 2008, development of the TOAN system earned APS the Edison Award, the electric utility industry's highest honor. TOAN technology leverages data from BPLG's market leading dissolved gas analysis (DGA) data set to provide the industry's most accurate diagnostic outcomes. It will be integrated into BPLG's TM View™ software system, combining TM View's market proven visualization and management capabilities with TOAN's artificial neural net computing engine to turn large amounts of data into actionable information. With twice the accuracy of traditional industry diagnostic techniques, TOAN, in combination with BPLG's transformer monitors, can precisely observe developing faults inside transformers progressing from undetectable levels to failure within days or even hours.

"Arizona's extreme temperatures and historical growth require us to constantly evaluate and invest in our electric system; protecting that system is vital," said Don Lamontagne, APS Engineering Manager and TOAN inventor. "We developed TOAN to protect our transformer fleet, manage our investment and ensure a safe, reliable electric system for our customers. In the years to come, we expect TOAN to make similar contributions across the entire industry."

Don Lamontagne continued, "BPLG's leadership position in transformer monitoring and our long, productive relationship made BPLG the ideal choice to help lead this endeavor."

Bundled with BPLG's TM View software and transformer monitors, TOAN enables an "exception-based" system of fault analysis. The BPLG system with TOAN offers analysis beyond traditional diagnostic tools that categorize fault classes.  In an industry breakthrough, using artificial intelligence programming to analyze the data produced by BPLG's on-line transformer monitors, the system can identify the severity of each fault class simultaneously with a high degree of accuracy as well as provide predictive analytics.

"Over the past several years, we witnessed the value delivered to utility asset managers through the integration of APS's TOAN technology with our transformer monitoring solution which is widely deployed through APS's footprint," said Pete Londa, CEO of BPLG. "We recognize the significant contribution that the TOAN technology can provide the global utility industry and are pleased to be APS's commercialization partner to make this offering available to our existing customer base of over 130 utilities worldwide as well as new customers of our transformer monitoring solutions."

BPLG's portfolio of transformer monitors, including models TM8™, TM3™ and TM1™, deliver critical analysis and insight into possible fault conditions that can lead to catastrophic transformer failure. By accurately detecting trace levels of targeted gases, BPLG's transformer monitors assist utilities in achieving the highest levels of safe power transformer operation by significantly reducing the likelihood of outages, lowering maintenance costs of power transformers and deferring capital expenditures by extending transformer life.

Transformer Monitoring is part of the broader suite of smart grid solutions from BPLG including Substation Automation, Demand Management, Grid Management and Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Management. BPLG solutions collaborate across the grid on a common platform providing a higher return on investment in advanced distribution automation.

About BPL Global
BPL Global® (BPLG) provides electric utilities with a suite of smart grid solutions for advanced distribution automation from substations through customer premises. Our solutions collaborate across the grid, helping utilities increase efficiency and reliability to improve their financial, operational and environmental performance. BPLG combines our experience in applying smart grid solutions with our market-leading technology to successfully serve leading utilities around the world. www.bplglobal.net

About APS
APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electricity utility, serves more than 1.1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. With headquarters in Phoenix, APS is the principal subsidiary of Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

SOURCE BPL Global, Ltd.