Saint John now one step closer to a revamped and smarter electricity network

Saint John Energy has signed on a new partner, Open Systems International (OSI), to help develop a state-of-the-art Smart Control Centre. The new system will allow Saint John Energy to maximize efficiency by monitoring and controlling all smart resources and smart consumer products on the grid from a central location. The new technology will also enhance Saint John Energy’s distribution and smart grid operations.

“We look forward to working with an expert in this field and a company of OSI’s caliber,” says Ryan Mitchell, VP, Saint John Energy. “This is a critical first step in developing the framework to bring new and future smart energy projects to life. Through this partnership we will be laying the foundation to foster the local energy entrepreneurial eco-system.”

Smart grid allows direct, standard, and secure two-way communication with consumer products, electrical devices, and distributed energy resources to reduce energy consumption, optimize grid efficiency, and manage costs at peak times when energy is more expensive. Smart grid technology also facilitates renewable power sources including wind and solar plants to power the grid.

“We look forward to working with Saint John Energy to provide innovative solutions to the community of Saint John and help them to become more engaged with their energy use,” said Sally Jacquemin, senior director of Distribution and Smart Grid at OSI.

Canada, as a whole, is supporting clean energy technologies that encourage energy efficiency and bring cleaner renewable energy onto a smarter electricity network. Earlier this year, Saint John Energy received a $4.1 million investment from Natural Resources Canada’s Smart Grid Program to modernize Saint John’s electricity grid. Saint John Energy’s new Smart Energy Project will utilize artificial intelligence to help optimize the system. This innovation will result in cost efficiencies and ensure a more resilient and reliable power system for customers.

“We are enabling new innovation right here in Saint John that will optimize energy use and create a more efficient and cost-effective way to provide energy to our customers,” says Mitchell. “This is just the start of many future initiatives that will help keep the lights on and the rates low.”

Saint John residents and businesses pay the lowest rates for electricity in Atlantic Canada, and 10% lower than the rest of New Brunswick. The utility is currently considering proposals from developers to build a wind energy project in the Spruce Lake Industrial Park.

Open Systems International

www.osii.com—headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota—provides open, state-of-the-art and high-performance automation solutions to utilities worldwide. OSI’s solutions empower its users to meet their operational challenges, day in and day out, with unsurpassed reliability and a minimal cost of technology ownership and maintenance.

Solutions include Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, Energy Management Systems (EMS), Distribution Management Systems (DMS), Outage Management Systems (OMS), Generation Management Systems (GMS), Substation Automation (SA) Systems, Data Warehousing (Historian) Analytics, Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS), Situational Awareness Systems, Pipeline Network Management Systems (NMS), individual software and hardware products, and Smart Grid solutions for utility operations.