Buzz Solutions Joins Forces With Southern California Edison to Reinforce the Utility’s Substation Security System

With this partnership, Southern California Edison fills a critical need for substation monitoring and alerts to prevent and mitigate against attacks, theft and equipment damage.

PALO ALTO, Calif., Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Buzz Solutions, an AI company that enables a smart, stable and resilient energy infrastructure, today announced the deployment of its proprietary substation monitoring solution for Southern California Edison (SCE), Edison Electric’s largest subsidiary. Buzz Solution’s AI-powered solution, PowerGUARD, provides 24/7, real-time alerts for substation surveillance, monitoring, equipment damage, condition assessments, and fire or smoke-related events using motion detection, unauthorized access alerting and infrared monitoring.

Following a meteoric rise in nationwide substation and power grid attacks over the last year and a costly attack to one Santa Fe Springs substation earlier this year, SCE urgently needed a low-cost, low-maintenance and highly efficient way to monitor the activity of its more than 700 substations across the region.

Prior to partnering with Buzz Solutions, SCE relied on sporadic, manual site visits to prevent substation attacks, thefts and damages. PowerGUARD uses AI to provide relevant insights about each substation to utility personnel, reduce unnecessary truck rolls, and offer around-the-clock security and peace of mind. Trained to identify unauthorized facility entrances, violations of personnel safety, high energy release events and high-temperature events, Buzz offers robust infrastructure monitoring for both manned and unmanned substation facilities.

“The concerning surge in substation attacks underscores the urgency of our commitment to developing innovative solutions that bolster grid resiliency and mitigate costly power disruptions that communities and cities rely on,” said Kaitlyn Albertoli, CEO and co-founder of Buzz Solutions. “Our partnership with Southern California Edison not only exemplifies this dedication but emphasizes the immense value of collaboration in securing the future of energy infrastructure.”

With PowerGUARD, SCE is able to reduce the number of manual site visits, reduce costs related to equipment damage, theft and attack, and comply with increased societal and governmental pressure to better secure its substations.

“Buzz’s PowerGUARD has been a transformative solution, significantly altering the way we respond to substation threats in real-time,” said Ben Almendarez, Southern California Edison Manager of Substation Maintenance Programs. “This partnership will not only reduce outages for our valued customers but also generate substantial cost savings for our organization. It’s a pivotal step towards modernizing our grid, strengthening security, and fulfilling our environmental commitments efficiently.”

Core capabilities of Buzz’s PowerGUARD for substation condition monitoring include:

• 24/7 Surveillance and Condition Monitoring Alerting System

• Intrusion monitoring and security surveillance using AI algorithms

• Perimeter monitoring leveraging RGB and thermal imaging

• Condition-based monitoring using on-the-edge and on-premise deployment of AI

• Detection of high energy release events

• Monitoring of high temperatures due to electrical asset failures

To learn more about Buzz Solutions’ substation surveillance and assessment product and use case, visit: https://www.buzzsolutions.co/substation-infographic