Single-phase FLISR and LOV technologies earn patent approval

Photo courtesy G&W Electric.

G&W Electric announces it has received approval of multiple patents for its single-phase fault location isolation and service restoration (FLISR) and loss-of-voltage (LOV) restoration technology for power distribution networks, which is designed to improve reliability indices by only isolating the single phase that is affected by a fault.

The technology is intended to solve a single-phase line to ground fault. It allows utilities to automatically reroute power, minimizing the number of customers impacted by outages and reducing the length of an outage. By way of comparison, with traditional three-phase FLISR—even in the case that a particular fault involves only one or two phases—power is interrupted for all customers on the affected power line.

“In recent times, the idea of automatically reconfiguring the power grid through FLISR and LOV has become the primary means for power providers to reach their reliability goals,” says John Mueller, chair and owner of G&W Electric. “Single-phase automation does not just increase reliability, but also safety, when it comes to power distribution metrics.”