GRIDiant and Baltimore Gas and Electric Establish Joint Technology Agreement on Industry's First 'Off-the-Shelf' Fault Circuit Indicator Software

New GRIDplan FCI Software Helps Utilities Identify Circuit Faults More Quickly, Potentially Improving Smart Grid Reliability

LOS ALTOS, Calif., Jan. 23, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GRIDiant Corporation, a leading providing of Advanced Grid Management (AGM) software applications for electric utilities, and Baltimore Gas and Electric, Maryland's largest gas and electric utility, today announced a joint technology agreement to commercialize a new software application that could improve the reliability of smart grid and lower distribution line crew costs for utilities. The new GRIDplan Fault Circuit Indicator (FCI) software, which will be sold and marketed by GRIDiant, will assist utilities in determining the optimal placement of fault circuit sensing devices, reducing the time it takes a line crew to locate a fault. As a result, the duration of potential power outages could be reduced.   

The partnership leverages a patent pending methodology and algorithm developed and piloted by BGE as well as GRIDiant's GRIDfast™ patented optimization engine.  It also capitalizes on GRIDiant's 10-year history in the development, testing, and commercialization of advanced distribution network optimization applications to deliver the industry's first commercial FCI software.  GRIDplan FCI will soon be available to other utilities interested in maximizing the benefits of their FCI deployments as well as FCI vendors wanting to provide enhanced value to their customers.   

"We were very encouraged by the savings realized during our pilot project using GRIDplan's FCI prototype," said Paul Frey, manager of BGE's Smart Grid Distribution System Pilot. "With these planning and analysis capabilities, our combined technologies will enable us to continue to improve the reliability of our network."

"Our partnership with BGE will help the Smart Grid industry take a big step forward in improving the reliability of distributed power through much better fault detection and faster problem resolution," said Andy Colman, CEO of GRIDiant. "The commercial availability of GRIDplan FCI leverages the extensive knowledge of our power analytics software team, our patented GRIDfast engine and BGE's proven methodology to optimize the placement of fault circuit indicators throughout their distribution system.  We are excited to partner with BGE in order to bring the GRIDplan FCI application to market."

About GRIDiant

GRIDiant provides the Advanced Grid Management (AGM™) suite of simulation, analytics, optimization, and display software, comprising a unique platform of applications for electric power networks driven by its patented GRIDfast™ engine. Developed and validated over 10 years, GRIDiant AGM allows electric utilities to optimize in real-time the operations and planning of transmission, distribution, and combined T&D networks, and to see the analytic results displayed graphically and geospatially on state-of-the art, interactive UIs. GRIDiant AGM allows electric utilities to leverage data from GIS, SCADA, OMS, AMI, and DTM systems and equipment to realize savings through improved reliability, reduced line losses, heightened operating efficiency, increased asset utilization and enhanced demand response.

For more information see www.gridiantcorp.com.

About BGE

BGE, headquartered in Baltimore, is Maryland's largest gas and electric utility, delivering power to more than 1.2 million electric customers and more than 650,000 natural gas customers in central Maryland. The company's approximately 3,400 employees are committed to the safe and reliable delivery of gas and electricity, as well as enhanced energy management, conservation, environmental stewardship and community assistance. BGE is a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE:EXC), the nation's leading competitive energy provider with approximately $33 billion in annual revenues. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.

CONTACT: Kevin Gallagher
         Gallagher Group Communications
         510.599.0416
         kevin@gg-comm.com