Global energy tech firm Landis+Gyr has penned an agreement with Benton Rural Electric Association (Benton REA) to deploy grid-edge sensing technology for AMI and energy management.

Some 17,000 member accounts receive electric service from the West Richland, Washington-based Benton REA in the southeastern part of the state. The utility is deploying Revelo grid sensors and a network combining Gridstream RF Mesh IP and cellular communications to economically reach remote services.

“Our primary goal is ensuring we can maintain reliability, manage costs and provide flexible demand management options for our members,” said Aaron Welling, lead project manager at Benton REA. “The Revelo platform expands our options with sensing capabilities that support load disaggregation, smart switching and power quality applications to improve system planning and maintenance.”

With EV charging and other new loads coming online, as well as agricultural irrigation loads to manage, Benton REA will be utilizing high-resolution data to proactively identify and balance heavy appliance loads on the distribution system, according to the terms of the agreement, Landis+Gyr said. This goal is to help the utility pinpoint where and when demand is increasing, address potential grid constraints and support more reliable, cost-effective power delivery as energy use continues to evolve.

Landis+Gyr’s hybrid network options are also designed to provide coverage in mountainous and remote areas with an omni-carrier cellular endpoint that ensures connectivity to the best available cellular network.

“Rural utilities are being asked to manage increasingly complex demands on the grid while maintaining the reliability and affordability their members depend on,” said Mark Ortega, director of distribution sales at Landis+Gyr. “By combining advanced sensing, grid-edge intelligence and flexible communications, Benton REA is building a stronger foundation for managing growth, improving visibility and making more informed operational decisions.”

Landis+Gyr’s Revelo platform was built to combine advanced metering with grid sensing capabilities, with the aim of giving utilities better visibility into energy usage, load behavior, and emerging issues at the edge of the grid.

Revelo was designed to analyze activity on both sides of the service connection using high-resolution waveform data and edge computing. The company said utilities can use the platform to identify loads and anomalies, manage growing demand from EV chargers, heat pumps and other new loads, and improve reliability and system planning. Revelo also supports flexible communications options, including RF Mesh IP, Wi-SUN protocol, omni-carrier cellular and private LTE networks.

Benton REA, a member-owned electric cooperative, serves more than 12,500 members across Benton, Yakima, and Lewis counties in Washington state, providing electric service to more than 16,900 active meters through 1,835 miles of line.