July 9th, 2010: BCBR Special Edition Power Tagging Article

Smart-Grid Technology
By Lyla D. Hamilton

In 2009, shortly after Power Tagging Technologies Inc. emerged from stealth mode, CEO John LoPorto presented the company’s smart-grid solution at an industry conference.

Before he could return to his seat, a utility company executive intercepted him. Draping an arm around LoPorto’s shoulder, he drawled, “You boys gonna need some money? Let me buy you a drink.” Since then, Dominion Resources of Richmond, Va., among the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy, has invested $3 million in the fledgling company.

“We want to get out in front of these companies before they invest in unnecessary fiber-optic cable and cellular towers,” LoPorto said. “We have faster, better solutions, and the capital investment is orders of magnitude lower.”

The new technology incorporates Power Tagging Modules, small digital signal processing systems attached to the grid, plus power amplifiers and coupling subsystems. Tagging gives a unit of energy an encrypted digital fingerprint.

Until the inception of this technology, LoPorto said, “Utility companies couldn’t tell one unit of energy from another.” They can now identify the power a particular device consumes, produces or conducts. It’s possible, for example, to determine whether the energy comes from coal, solar or wind. That supports auditing of cap-and-trade programs and renewable energy credits.

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