Tech startup uses AI to keep tabs on the grid to prevent wildfires

By Mary Lee

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    WALNUT CREEK, California (KPIX) — Every fire season, especially under dangerous fire weather conditions, homeowners brace themselves for destructive wildfires and prolonged power outages in their neighborhoods.

Tim Barat knows all too well how monster wildfires can devastate a community. He remembers the exact moment he discovered the relationship between power lines and wildfires.

“In Australia, I was originally a lineman and, unfortunately, I experienced what now is called ‘Black Saturday’ and this was an event where 50 fires were ignited by power lines in one day and 187 people passed away and I was there boots on the ground and we were there working together with the first responders,” Barat said.

Motivated to make a difference, he co-founded Gridware with UC Berkeley engineering classmate Hall Chen.

They created a solar-powered sensor that continuously measures tiny motions in utility lines and poles.

Using artificial intelligence, they can identify specific vibrations as well as the conditions which cause them. As soon as those vibrations or anomalies are detected, Gridware technology can alert power companies of the danger in real time. It’s then up to the utility company to shut down power to those lines.

“We like to think of the grid as a guitar where the conductors are the strings and poles are the frets,” said Chen, Gridware co-founder and chief technology officer. “When you have a physical event impacting the conductors, it creates vibrations that are very different than what you see on a day-to-day basis and so we monitor those vibrations at the pole level.”

Barat, who is an experienced electrical lineman, demonstrated how it works at the Richmond field station.

“This happens hundreds of times even in a 24-hour period where a branch will break and it will fall on the lines just like this and it remains there on the lines for up to hours before it actually ignites and only when it ignites does it fall down to the ground and then start a fire,” Barat explained. “So we detect the moment that the vegetation contacts the lines.”

Gridware’s technology is not only about preventing wildfires. It can also help crews get the electricity restored faster after an outage.

“Every time you cut the power, the utility needs to patrol every meter of the line and that can take hours and so knowing exactly what has happened — where it has happened — allows them to send the crew directly to the location with the right equipment, remove the hazard or make the repair and quickly switch the power back on,” Barat said.

Gridware’s sensors also monitor real-time environmental weather factors like temperature, pressure, wind and humidity. In California, they place their sensors in the highest-risk areas, covering a thousand miles of our power grid.

“I grew up in California,” Chen said. “To be able to actually make a difference for the communities around my home state and other states as well around the country — it’s good for the soul.”

“I remember the first time that we received the call back from the utility with confirmation that we had stopped a wildfire,” Barat recalled. “Those were their exact words, ‘Without your alert, this would’ve been a forest fire.’ That’s a very emotional experience.”

For Barat and Chen, a future safe from ravaging wildfires powers their passion.

Gridware has installed about 13,000 sensors around the country in eight states, working with 18 utility companies including PG&E.

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