Southern California Edison launches private 5G network

Southern California Edison (SCE) has partnered with Nokia to launch a private 5G field area network (FAN) and declared a first for electricity utilities in the US.

The network, designed to meet the meet the unique demands of utility operations, leverages SCE’s investment in Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum.

Features include Nokia’s latest 5G radio access, services and core technology, combined with its existing IP/MPLS backbone, in order to provide high performance connectivity and reliability for critical utility operations.

Nokia’s cloud native 5G Core portfolio is designed to enable rapid rollout of new network services across multi-cloud environments.

Have you read?
Endesa harnesses AI and 5G for smart grid worker safety
The EU Projects Zone Podcast: Smart5Grid with Daniele Porcu

This technological foundation should open new opportunities for SCE to enhance grid reliability, optimise renewable integration and streamline operations.

“Realising the clean energy future depends on high performing, scalable and secure technology,” said Todd Inlander, SCE senior vice president and chief information officer.

“Our grid modernisation programme includes upgrading the wireless communications network that helps our teams, and our systems, talk to each other.”

The FAN technology lets devices communicate with power lines, substations and other equipment that helps keep power flowing.

With the 5G connection, crews can monitor sensors to quickly detect faults on power lines, enable remote connections to electric equipment in hard-to-reach areas and collect real-time smart meter data to improve the reliability of power delivery to customers.

In a blog posting on the initiative, Jeff Pittman, Head of the Enterprise Market Unit for Mobile Networks at Nokia, describes it as marking a significant leap in utility innovation.

“Together, we are setting a new standard for grid efficiency, reliability and sustainability, creating a model that utilities worldwide can adopt.”

A key feature of the 5G network highlighted by Pittman is its support for network slicing, allowing different use cases to operate independently, each with dedicated resources.

With this, latency sensitive applications, such as emergency response or equipment control, receive prioritised network performance, even during peak demand.

Specific advantages noted include accelerated smart grid deployment, with real-time grid monitoring, advanced sensors, smart meters and automated controls deployed seamlessly, enhanced distributed energy resource integration and management through dynamic resource allocation and improved worker safety and asset management with real-time data to improve situational awareness and response times.

Over the next several years, SCE intends to expand the reach of the 5G FAN across its entire 129,500km2 service area.