Dive Summary:

• Smart grid solutions provider Efacec ACS' fault detection, isolation, and restoration technology has launched on Cobb Electric Membership Corp.'s (Cobb EMC) distribution system.
• The technology is capable of isolating faults and quickly restoring them automatically re-routing power from another portion of the system.
• Cobb EMC is a non-profit co-op that serves more than 175,093 members in Georgia and hopes the new solution will be a part of the next step of an installed smart grid infrastructure.

From the article:

According to Efacec, the FDIR technology automatically isolates faults within a smaller section of the distribution system, dramatically reducing the number of customers experiencing a power outage. Many outages that occur due to a fault can often be quickly restored by automatically re-routing power from another portion of the system, the company adds.

"The ability to automatically isolate and restore faults on distribution feeders is an advanced technology that we're excited to be able to provide for Cobb EMC members," says Bhaji Dhillon, manager of power system technologies and planning at Cobb EMC. "Over the years, we have aggressively deployed automation on our system to improve the reliability of service to our members, with over 650 SCADA-controlled switches installed. Deployment of FDIR on our distribution management system from Efacec ACS is the next step in leveraging this installed infrastructure." ...