Tollgrade Communications, an industry leader in redefining the standard for reliability at the world's largest electric utilities and telecommunications providers, has been named a finalist in the Platts Global Energy Awards, an annual program recognizing exemplary industry leadership. The 2013 finalists, selected from more than 200 nominations, were announced this week by program host Platts, the leading global energy, petrochemicals and metals information provider. Tollgrade's industry-leading LightHouse® distribution monitoring platform, consisting of Medium Voltage (MV) Smart Grid Sensors and Sensor Management Software (SMS) with Predictive GridSM Analytics received top honors in the categories of Rising Star - Company and Leading Technology - Commercial Application. "We congratulate this year's finalist individuals and companies, and we look forward to honoring their accomplishments when we unveil the 2013 Global Energy Award winners in December at our 15th annual awards dinner," said Platts President Larry Neal. Established in 1999 and often described as "the Oscars" of the energy industry, the Platts Global Energy Awards highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership and performance excellence in 18 categories spanning the energy complex. "As the only pure-play smart grid sensor company nominated this year, we are honored to be selected by Platts as a finalist in the Rising Star and Leading Technology Categories for 2013," said Edward H. Kennedy, CEO and President, Tollgrade Communications. "This recognition as a leading solution by a panel of executives from utility industry leaders further validates the strength of our platform and makes this award even more meaningful to us." According to the Edison Electric Institute, 90 percent of outages occur on the distribution network. Tollgrade's LightHouse distribution monitoring platform is helping utilities solve the real-world challenges that impact the reliability and resiliency of the distribution grid. LightHouse Medium Voltage Smart Grid Sensors are deployed outside substations and along feeders on the distribution network to help utilities increase reliability by identifying and locating faults, reducing outage time and providing real-time monitoring to balance loads to protect the life of substation transformers. Tollgrade's pioneering work has created a new, rapidly growing market for smart grid sensors that are ‘hot-stick' deployable, come pre-bundled with integrated wireless communications and a Predictive Grid Analytics software package that works seamlessly with a utility's pre-existing SCADA, Historian or DMS systems. Tollgrade is the only sensing solution to deliver grid visibility down to three amps through inductively powered sensors that eliminate the maintenance costs required to support battery-powered alternatives. During an outage, visualization tools pinpoint locations to reduce drive and restoration times. The solution is used by some of the world's largest Investor Owned Utilities (IOUs), Distribution System Operators (DSOs), municipalities and co-ops to reduce outage minutes, improve reliability metrics, balance loads and protect important assets like substation transformers. This is the fifth time Tollgrade has been recognized in 2013 for their innovations in the smart grid. Earlier this year, the company was recognized by Red Herring, received the 2013 Smart Grid Product of the Year Award from TMCnet and was voted one of the Top 13 Smart Grid Companies to watch in 2013 by Smart Grid News. In June, analyst firm IHS recognized Tollgrade as the market share leader in smart grid sensors in 2013. Earlier this month, Tollgrade's LightHouse Platform Won the "Substation Automation and Distribution Automation" Award from Fierce Energy Innovation Competition. Hundreds of energy industry representatives are expected to attend the 2013 Global Energy Awards black-tie dinner gala in New York City on December 12. The awards program will be emceed by CNBC News Anchor Amanda Drury for a fourth consecutive year. Tollgrade
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