Saving 5% of Energy Consumed on the Electric Grid - Entegrus & Varentec to Collaborate on First Installations in Canada

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Varentec™, a leader in Grid Edge Control, together with Entegrus, a Local Distribution Company in Ontario, Canada, today announce the first successful installations of a technology that can deliver up to 5% energy savings on the electric grid. Varentec's Grid Edge Management System (GEMS™) solution consists of a network of ENGO™ field devices, managed by their GEMS™ control software.  This solution is being deployed on the Entegrus power grid to manage dynamic voltage variations which enables reduced energy consumption, increased ability to add renewables to the grid and decreased carbon emissions. Many energy savings programs focus on the customer side, such as commercial buildings and residential homes, but this approach targets efficiencies on the actual distribution grid infrastructure. 

"Varentec's intelligent GEMS solution presents a new way for electric utilities to regulate lower end-to-end feeder voltages and achieve substantial energy efficiency savings and reduced cost," said Entegrus' System Planning Manager, Matthew Meloche.

This cost-effective solution has been demonstrated by Varentec in multiple electric utilities in the USA, Mexico and Australia, and this is the first deployment in Canada.  "This project is being achieved with the support of the Ontario Ministry of Energy, to advance innovative Smart Grid technologies at electric utility companies in Canada," said Guillaume Dufosse, CEO of Varentec.  Energy savings results have been demonstrated by impressive field data, which is targeted to be achieved in Ontario as well.

The GEMS solution employs unique field hardware devices, called ENGOs, which deliver Voltage and VAR regulation on the secondary-side of service transformers.  With the placement of ENGO units along a set of feeders, an electric utility is able to achieve dramatically tighter control of voltage, all along the feeders, even in the presence of problematic industrial loads and distributed generation assets. As a result of this tight system-wide voltage control, Varentec enables an electric grid operator to adjust voltage levels with confidence, in order to control demand, while maintaining ANSI or CSA voltage limits. This allows utilities to reduce expensive peak demand events, or to boost low voltage customers at the end of the feeder. 

The result is as much as a 5% energy reduction while decreasing operating costs through reduced system losses, increasing power quality on the entire feeder, increasing PV solar deployment, and fewer customer complaints.  For this reason, the GEMS solution is like a "swiss army knife" for the grid operator, applying multiple energy-saving "tools" to achieving multiple value streams with only one control solution at the grid edge.

About Varentec:

Varentec™ provides innovative solutions for the next generation of power grid control and management.  Their distributed Grid Edge Management System™ (GEMS™) provides the missing control layer in traditional grid control systems.

About Entegrus:

Entegrus, located in Chatham, Ontario, has 40,000 customers across South West Ontario, Canada.

Varentec, Grid Edge Management System (GEMS), Edge of Network Grid Optimization, and ENGO are trademarks of Varentec Corporation.

SOURCE Varentec