JUNO BEACH, Fla., June 30, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) today announced that its Automated Fault Mapping Prediction System project was recognized with an Award of Excellence by the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN), an organization that brings together governments and their stakeholders to accelerate the development and deployment of smarter electricity grids worldwide through dynamic knowledge sharing, peer exchange, tool development and project coordination.
"We're honored that our work to build a stronger and smarter energy grid for Florida is being recognized," said Eric Silagy, president and CEO for FPL. "Innovative projects like this help us deliver reliable service to our customers year-round. Leveraging advanced solutions such as the Automated Fault Mapping Prediction System, gives us unprecedented visibility across the grid so we can more quickly detect and prevent many issues before they become problems for our customers."
FPL's project focused on leveraging smart grid data integration to direct crews to the location of a power line problem faster – resulting in fewer customers affected by outages.
"This award is a reflection of our team of innovators' diligent work to implement smart grid solutions that continue to improve the service we provide our customers," said Manny Miranda, senior vice president of Power Delivery for FPL. "We have made remarkable strides in our ability to monitor and manage the energy grid today compared to just a few years ago, helping us deliver greater reliability in good weather and bad."
Advanced technology is helping FPL reduce costs and improve system reliability, which is the best in Florida and among the best in the nation – nearly 50 percent better than the national average. Over the past five years, smart grid technology has helped FPL improve its service reliability by more than 25 percent. For several years, FPL has been investing in advanced smart grid technology and using predictive analytics to deliver real-time data directly to technicians in the field and engineers in the company's diagnostic centers. Engineers, in turn, analyze the data to measure and improve electric grid performance. In fact, smart grid technology is increasingly helping FPL identify power outages, often times before they occur, further improving service restoration times and operational efficiencies.
Key customer benefits of a smarter grid
- Enhanced detection and prevention of outages
- Faster response time when outages occur
- Reduced operating costs through increased efficiencies
- More information and customer control than ever before
The ISGAN Award of Excellence is given to one or more exemplary global smart grid projects each year at the conclusion of an annual international awards competition. Award of Excellence projects are judged by several criteria including innovation, economic rationale and reliability improvements. This award comes on the heels of FPL's nuclear power plants being recognized with the Nuclear Energy Institute's 2016 top innovation award for pioneering a unique program that significantly improves plant performance.
For more information, visit FPL.com/smartgrid.
Florida Power & Light Company
Florida Power & Light Company is the third-largest electric utility in the United States, serving more than 4.8 million customer accounts or more than 10 million people across nearly half of the state of Florida. FPL's typical 1,000-kWh residential customer bill is approximately 30 percent lower than the latest national average and, in 2015, was the lowest in Florida among reporting utilities for the sixth year in a row. FPL's service reliability is better than 99.98 percent, and its highly fuel-efficient power plant fleet is one of the cleanest among all utilities nationwide. The company was recognized in 2015 as one of the most trusted U.S. electric utilities by Market Strategies International. A leading Florida employer with approximately 8,800 employees, FPL is a subsidiary of Juno Beach, Fla.-based NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NEE), a clean energy company widely recognized for its efforts in sustainability, ethics and diversity, and has been ranked No. 1 in the electric and gas utilities industry in Fortune's 2016 list of "World's Most Admired Companies." NextEra Energy is also the parent company of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which, together with its affiliated entities, is the world's largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. For more information, visit these websites: www.NextEraEnergy.com, www.FPL.com, www.NextEraEnergyResources.com.
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SOURCE Florida Power & Light Company