IP Democracy: SDG&E To Test Broadband Over Powerline

San Diego Gas & Electric has joined the growing ranks of utilities undertaking trials of broadband over power line (BPL) technology. According to the San Diego Union Tribune:

SDG&E said its test will be limited to about 10 company employees, who will use the technology to monitor electric-grid conditions and control equipment in the Kearny Mesa area, where SDG&E has its offices.

“This is a proof-of-concept test, so there’s no need to involve a large number of people,” said Ed Van Herik, an SDG&E spokesman. “It would be premature to speculate about the consumer market.”

He said BPL was one of the possible technologies the company is considering to link the advanced electric meters the company is proposing to install across its customer base. The BPL test project will be paid for by the utility’s shareholders and not its customers, Van Herik said.

The utility is working on the pilot project with ham radio operators, he said. Tests elsewhere of BPL have created interference on amateur radio bands.

The announcement by SDG&E follows other recent news on the BPL front, including Google’s investment in Current Communication, IBM’s BPL development partnership with CenterPoint Energy, a $520k loan by a Michigan state agency to fund BPL deployments in two small communities, and Motorola’s introduction of a BPL system that promises to minimize interference with ham radio operations.

Posted by Mitch Shapiro on July 22, 2005 2:48 PM to IP Democracy