Utah public power utility Heber Power & Light and Massachusetts public power utility Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant will participate in projects tied to the Department of Energy’s American-Made Digitizing Utilities Prize.
The DOE’s Office of Electricity on July 17 announced nine Phase 1 Utility/Data Challenge-track winning teams of the American-Made Digitizing Utilities Prize Round 2.
The nine selected teams were awarded $75,000 in cash prizes each for their efforts in the Utility Digitization/Data Challenge track (Track 1).
Soon, the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) will announce additional teams to be awarded $125,000 in cash prizes each for their proposed solutions toward the Utility Cybersecurity Challenge track (Track 2).
This $2.15 million prize, now in its second round, was launched in October 2023 with the goal of connecting utilities with interdisciplinary teams of software developers and data experts to transform digital systems and data analytics for utilities in the energy sector.
New tools and data analytics are needed in the power sector to cope with the vast amounts of data being generated on the grid and the new demands on the system from electrification and renewable integration. Cutting-edge tools that utilize digital information effectively have the power to improve system performance and responsiveness.
Throughout Phase 1, teams of developers were tasked with finding and connecting with a utility partner to identify a data or cybersecurity challenge and propose a solution to that problem. Winning teams demonstrated a thorough understanding of their solutions and ability to access relevant resources to be leveraged for the prize. Now in Phase 2, these nine teams will work with their utility partners over the course of four months to develop and refine their solutions for an opportunity to win additional funding.
Heber Power & Light
“We are excited to be included in Grid Elevated's pilot project for their new data sharing and acquisition platform. This innovative platform promises to streamline our energy resource management and utility operations,” Emily Brandt, Energy Resource Manager at Heber Power & Light, told Public Power Current.
Grid Elevated develops cloud-based AI solutions for power grid applications
“Heber Light & Power has a diverse energy mix and serves a rapidly growing territory. However, the intermittency of renewables in our portfolio, the demands of electrification, the ongoing popularity of net metering, and the reduction of baseload resources like coal and hydropower present new challenges in maintaining our historically low electric rates. These challenges highlight our need for a sophisticated platform that facilitates comprehensive data collection and sharing,” she said.
“Our partnership with Grid Elevated offers a unique opportunity to integrate our current platforms, consolidating information from various sources. This integration will enable us to make informed operational decisions for both near-term and long-term planning while continuing to manage electricity costs effectively,” Brandt said.
“We are thrilled to participate in this pilot project and look forward to assessing its practical benefits and scalability,” she said.
Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant
In an interview with Public Power Current, Stephen Girardi, Engineering Manager at Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant, noted that the utility is working with ChainSCADA.
This team will integrate blockchain-based PKI infrastructure to enhance security and trustworthiness of DNP3 communications, as well as streamline operations, improve regulatory compliance, and mitigate cybersecurity risks, DOE said.
“Our solution is scalable, adaptable and suitable for utilities of all sizes and infrastructures,” said ChainSCADA’s Luke Pint in a video detailing the technology.
“If this thing actually takes off, we want to be the pioneers” of being the first utility to utilize a blockchain technology for cybersecurity, Girardi said.
He noted that Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant will not be investing in the project. Rather, the utility will offer an environment for testing the technology.
