Look around, and you’ll notice that the future grid is already taking shape. From voice-controlled home fixtures to app-managed electronics, automation is seamlessly integrating into our lives. Renewable energy solutions are also becoming more prevalent.
While we are certainly up for the challenge here at SRP, we need to make sure that our grid is too. The bottom line is that reliability, security and safety are our top priorities. Beyond that, we have also committed to supporting all the ways that energy consumption, habits and technology are changing.
Meeting the challenge head-on
Introducing our state-of-the-art Technology Innovation Lab: a key player in transitioning today’s grid into the grid of the future.
This 5,400-square-foot facility brings together various teams, enabling us to:
- Test new software and hardware solutions prior to deployment
- Troubleshoot problems
- Meet compliance requirements
- Test SRP’s ability to respond to various scenarios and faults in the power system
- Expand other grid capabilities
“Working together researching and testing new solutions means we will come to realizations quicker, find improved ways to communicate and ultimately enhance SRP’s system reliability.”
“It is such a tremendous development because three of SRP’s disparate labs melded together to become one cooperative space with so much more functionality,” said Kyle Cormier, SRP’s Director of Telecommunication Systems.
Fun facts about the Technology Innovation Lab:
The lab can accommodate up to 72 employees and includes:
- Workspaces for engineers to test solutions
- Collaborative team spaces for research and development
- Areas for configuring and staging equipment prior to field deployment
- A small classroom space where vendors and SRP teams can conduct training
Focus on training
“Training is a huge area of focus for this lab space,” said Tait Willis, SRP’s Director of Applications, Operational Technology. “With evolving technologies and standards and to adequately develop SRP’s engineers and technicians, we needed a central space where employees can come to learn critical practices in a safe environment.”
Cormier and Willis are excited for the work ahead and the substantial impacts they see it having across SRP.
“We constantly strive to find solutions that help us better communicate with our mission-critical assets, which keep the power turned on for customers,” said Cormier.
Transitioning today’s grid is a team effort.
“We look forward to seeing how our entire organization benefits from the research and development SRP will be able to perform, as well as improved training practices that employees will be able to build a foundation from,” said Willis.