Lisle, IL — April 22, 2003 — Predictive technology provider SmartSignal Corp. today announced that Arizona Public Service Co. (APS), Arizona's longest-serving electric utility, has implemented the SmartSignal Equipment Condition Monitoring (eCM) software solution at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station.
Palo Verde, the number one power producer of any kind in the United States, produced a national record of 30.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2002.
Palo Verde has implemented SmartSignal eCM as part of its initiative to improve early detection of potential equipment problems prior to failure. By doing so, the plant is able to maximize availability and reduce both planned and unplanned downtime.
Steve Coppock, department leader, plant reliability and modifications at APS-Palo Verde, said Palo Verde's track record of outstanding nuclear safety, economic performance and uninterrupted service is a testament to the hard work of its employees and its implementation of innovative technologies "We consistently strive to improve our processes, and SmartSignal eCM is part of helping Palo Verde better monitor equipment performance. Our goal is to identify degrading equipment performance and take action on our terms rather than being surprised by an equipment failure. This approach supports safe and reliable operation and is also good for our customers."
SmartSignal eCM is designed to gain insight into the health and performance of key assets, giving companies advanced early warning of abnormal machine and process behavior that lead to failure, according to the provider. Palo Verde is using SmartSignal eCM to monitor a wide range of equipment including feedwater pumps, reactor coolant pumps steam generators and related plant equipment.
"The professionals at Palo Verde understand the importance of proactive maintenance strategies in order to sustain high customer service levels, maximize efficiency of plant personnel and increase shareholder value," commented Brad True, general manager of Power, Energy, Process, SmartSignal.
