Cape Town: South Africa’s energy utility Eskom awarded its National Power Grid Intelligence Tender to Actom Smart Technology (Pty) LTD, who will be deploying Stellenbosch based CT LAB (Pty) LTD technology to deliver a world first in power grid technology.

The agreement will see Eskom install over 1,300 of CT LAB’s VECTO edge-computing devices into the power grid countrywide to upgrade grid monitoring and management capabilities in four provinces.

Once completed, CT LAB’s state-of-the-art VECTO devices will join 3,600 of CT LAB’s existing power quality monitoring devices, to create the first integrated smart grid monitoring and intelligence platform that delivers real-time, grid-wide visibility to grid engineers and managers. The VECTO system is the only intelligent grid monitoring and control solution on the market to install processing power throughout the power grid, preparing the way for Eskom to transition to a distributed smart grid management paradigm.

“VECTO was developed to address the unique needs of the African power grid,” said Willie van Wyk, CEO of CT LAB and lead engineer on the VECTO platform. “The challenges of delivering continuous, high quality power to the continent requires an innovative approach to monitoring. VECTO focuses on bringing visibility to the edge of the network through the power of edge computing and broadband connectivity. We are honoured to be awarded this tender and excited to play a role in upgrading South Africa’s power network.”