 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
| "Best available information on the evolving BPL industry."
-- David Ginsburg, Manager of Customer Operations Support, MidAmerican Energy
"The level of depth makes it easy to read to keep up with things without feeling like I've missed anything important out there."
-- Bruce Romano, Associate Chief, Office of Engineering & Technology, US FCC
"Very informative with respect to what deal-making is going on."
-- Richard Walsh, Vice President and General Manager, Current Communications
BPL Today is "current and it covers all aspects of the business ... not just who is launching where and with what technology. I appreciate you."
-- Cindy Bambini, BPL Product Engineer, Ameren
"BPL Today is an excellent source of information and it's also very well presented."
-- Celestin Ratsimbazafy, Professional Engineer, Hyrdo-Quebec
"I like the weekly update format and focused, detailed articles about this growing and developing industry/technology."
-- Richard Hammitt, BPL Operations Project Manager, Arizona Public Service
BPL Today "responds quickly to news."
-- David Flaxman, Vice President of Business Development, Utility.net
BPL Today "collects international market activities and summarizes them weekly in a short/slim format."
-- Bruno Zaugg, Sales & Marketing Manager, Current Technologies International
"Most comprehensive industry publication today."
-- Brian Donnelly, Vice President of Marketing and Business Development, Corinex Communications
BPL Today offers "details about legislative actions."
-- Calvin Luther, Business Analyst, Bangor Hydro-Electric
[more testimonials] |
|
|
 |
List of Applications
We've collected lists of utility, industry, public sector and consumer applications that could be used with IP networks such as BPL. BPL's advantage in delivering most of these is that the network infrastructure -- the power lines and wires -- are already deployed. The list is compiled from many sources in the BPL industry and beyond -- with a special nod to IBM for having the most detailed list of utility applications we ever saw.
NOTE: Some of these are available now, others exist but aren't yet available BPL-enabled, and many others are simply predicted to be available at some point. Did we miss a few? Please send additions to sam@bpltoday.com.
Universal Applications
These are useful in most or all of the market sectors below so we listed them only once
Air quality monitoring
Air temperature monitoring and HVAC control
High-speed internet access
Intrusion alert
Indoor/outdoor lighting controls and associated monitors
LAN, computer peripheral networking
Security key-card management (linked to HR database)
Video conferencing
Video on demand/digital TV/IPTV
Video streaming
Video surveillance
VOIP
Utility Grid Applications
AMI/AMR for electricity, water and natural gas
Capacitor bank monitoring and control
Demand-side management
Distributed generation management including: centralized dispatch, islanding, and matched load and circuit load measurement to trigger DG for peak shaving
Dynamic loading of station transformers
Load management
Outage monitoring
Pinpointing source of low power quality
Power demand management programs
Predicting grid element failure
Real-time price signaling to customers
Relay, line-recloser and switch controls
Remote connect/disconnect
SCADA
Self healing wide-area protection and islanding
Temperature monitoring
VAR control (capacitors, regulator settings and voltage measurements)
Voltage monitoring
Voltage reduction for conservation
Utility Operations Applications
AMR-enhanced billing and bill dispute resolution
AMR-enhanced customer service
Internal/field communications
GIS record quality
Prepaid metering
WAN
Municipal/Government Applications
This is meant to cover the public sector including schools, roads, emergency services, public health and safety and much more
Air quality compliance monitoring
Anti-terror (chemical) sensors and monitors
Bridge vibration monitoring
Dockyard management
Drug enforcement sensors
Drug enforcement - finding signature power load from "grow light" banks at illegal indoor drug crop farms
Police/fire alternative communication
"Smart roads" including "smart signage"
Smoke and fire detection
Railroad signals
Traffic monitoring and remote control
Tunnel air quality monitoring
BPL Opersator/ISP Applications
Noise characterization for FCC violation reports
Remote CPE tech support
Remote CPE software upgrades and maintenance
Industrial Applications
Irrigation sensors and controls
Pipeline sensors and controls
Process (manufacturing, etc) sensors and controls
Wind farm controls
MDU/Building Management Applications
Customer/landlord interface/communications
Elevator/hallway communications and digital signage
Entrance access intercoms
Sewerage controls
Water management
WiFi hotspots
Research and Academia Applications
Seismagraphs
Tide gauges
Weather stations
Consumer Applications
Home gateways for the "smart home"
Video game services
These aren't yet sorted into above categories isolation of faults on single phases, rapid restoration, verification that capacitor banks are switching as expected, outage location (within 1,000' or so) and notification and communication to coordinate premium power devices. Diagnostic monitoring: measuring conductor temperature/line voltage/status of line arrestors/fuses and line transformer, analyzing line noise (aka EMI analysis), gas and corrosion monitoring, improved real-time monitoring of underground networks, station to station networking (communications to a substation from a distribution line injection point), detection of cable deterioration such as from tree contact and better knowledge of electrical losses and energy theft. Operations improvement: giving lineman access to maps/instruction book, creating central repository for data fed by PLC reporting, personnel management including crews reporting via PLC/radio link, multi-sensor/multi-extractor analysis, asset security monitoring, developing power flow profiles along an entire line length in real time, call handling systems and other communications. System protection: fault recognition and location, replacing transmission carrier current communications to remove license concerns and save money plus adaptive relay setting.
|
|
|
|
Benefits
