Itron signs deal with New Zealand’s NWL

Itron at a trade show

Itron announced its contract with Network Waitaki (NWL) in New Zealand to deploy Itron’s Distribution Transformer Monitoring (DTM) solution.

Itron did not reveal financial details of the deal with NWL that serves 13,000 customers and covers 2,000 km of powerlines – mainly in rural areas.

NWL will use Itron’s SaaS applications for operating the DTM solution in order to provide better quality of service to customers and gain more awareness into issues in the distribution network.

Itron’s SaaS solution will enable the utility to remotely read the system, calculate transformer load, and collect and store data.

“With Itron’s solution, we will be able to increase our network awareness, especially at the low voltage level, improve outage management and harness detailed asset analysis,” Tod Trotman, NWL’s planning and asset manager said.

NWL relies on a SCADA system for operational awareness, but it is limited to high-voltage network equipment.

NWL installed eight DTM units in 2016 as a trial and will install additional units in the next few years to implement a fully functional system to improve outage management in the low-voltage network.

Itron said the solution provides detailed visibility into the operational state of distribution transformers, enabling NWL to manage transformer performance and lifecycle based on actual operational conditions rather than using estimates and statistical modeling. As a result, NWL will be able to improve maintenance and extend the lifetime of transformer assets.