Automation and Efficiency Proposals Aim to Advance DOE Smart Grid Goals

ATLANTA, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Withstanding attacks and natural disasters, empowering consumers, increasing operating efficiency -- these are among the top goals for the funding of smart grid technologies, according to the DOE's Smart Grid Investment Grant program. Grant proposals incorporating technology from Advanced Control Systems (ACS), which include customer and partner projects, would direct more than $50 million to smart grid projects tightly focused on the DOE goals.

ACS would provide support as a technology vendor to applications submitted by a dozen of its existing customers, in addition to submittals representing potential new partnerships with other major utilities and technology providers. The technology to be provided by ACS in most applications involves DMS, feeder automation, loss minimization and simulation tools. The ACS proposals are built around the PRISM(TM) platform, a suite of real-time distribution management and outage management applications.

ACS Chief Executive Officer Jose Barbosa noted, "While no single technology or vendor can fulfill all of the Smart Grid criteria, PRISM offers the most extensive suite of integrated Smart Grid technologies available in the industry. We are pleased that so many utilities recognize the tremendous capability and value provided by our integrated approach, and we are eager to help them play a major part in the modernization of our nation's electrical grid."

PRISM DMS/OMS (and its supporting products) is a comprehensive platform that has been enabling Smart Grid functions and systems installed in the field since 2001. The architecture not only meets the Smart Grid characteristics defined by DOE, but also provides a powerful simulation platform for change management, training and evaluation of Smart Grid technologies and the interaction between technologies.

The core technology systems supported through PRISM include:

    --  Outage Management System (OMS)
    --  Distribution Management System (DMS)
    --  Distribution Automation (DA)
    --  Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
    --  Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integration
    --  Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) integration

About Advanced Control Systems Advanced Control Systems, an EFACEC company, is a provider of smart grid solutions to the global electric power industry. The ACS software suite provides integrated distribution and outage management, simulation, optimization, and enterprise business intelligence. ACS automation product lines include a wide range of flexible and cost-effective substation, distribution, and feeder automation solutions. ACS is powering the utility of the future -- today. For more information, visit www.acsatlanta.com.

SOURCE Advanced Control Systems

Web site: http://www.acsatlanta.com/