COLUMBIA, MISSISSIPPI, USA —  The US Office of Electricity in collaboration with GE and Prolec GE has undertaken a large project of renewing the US power grid.

The Office of Electricity has started the Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components (TRAC) program to support projects accelerating grid modernization by addressing challenges with LPTs and other critical grid hardware components, making them more flexible, modular, scalable, and adaptable.

As part of this program, GE and Prolec Energy have recently partnered to install the first flexible large autotransformer as part of a six-month field validation at a  Cooperative Energy substation in Columbia, Mississippi.

According to the Office of Electricity, flexible transformers are able to adapt to a range of voltage ratios and impedance levels, which should allow for lower manufacturing costs and shorter production time. This should enable facilities to quickly replace damaged transformers within days instead of months which would help protect American communities’ grid’s resiliency during extreme weather events or cyber-attacks.

According to the Office of Electricity, this project represents a significant step forward to accelerate the deployment of innovative LPTs and evaluate the technology’s performance in real-world scenarios. Ultimately, this project is said to be intended as an encouragement to create a more adaptive, flexible, and resilient grid capable of delivering power to people when they need it most.

Source: US Office of Electricity & Prolec Energy