Milton Hydro Launches Two-Year Pilot Program of G&W Electric’s Safegrid Intelligent Grid System to Enhance Grid Reliability

MILTON, Ontario, Aug. 17, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Milton Hydro Distribution Inc. (Milton Hydro) is pleased to announce the launch of a two-year pilot program deploying G&W Electric’s Safegrid Intelligent Grid System (IGS) sensor technology and analytics system across select areas of its distribution network. The initiative is designed to explore how advanced grid monitoring, fault detection, and predictive analytics can improve system visibility, operational efficiency, and reliability compared to traditional line patrolling. It will also assess the Intelligent Grid System’s ability to identify early indicators of potential issues, such as tree contacts or equipment deterioration, enabling proactive maintenance before they result in outages. Through the evaluation, Milton Hydro will examine potential benefits including predictive outage management, faster fault location, reduced outage impacts, improved reliability performance, and more efficient deployment of operational resources.

“At Milton Hydro, we are committed to delivering safe, reliable, and innovative service to our customers,” said Troy Hare, President and CEO of Milton Hydro. “The Safegrid pilot allows us to evaluate advanced sensor technology that has the potential to significantly enhance our ability to detect and respond to grid events in real time, while also predicting issues before they develop into sustained outages. The insights gained will help us determine how these tools can support a more resilient and future-ready distribution system.”

As of January 2026, Milton Hydro has implemented Safegrid’s advanced sensor solutions, including its Intelligent GridGuardian cloud-based analytics platform and predictive fault detection technology. In addition to deploying 20+ sensors, the pilot includes additional technology to identify improved fault location accuracy, supporting power and communications hardware, and the GridGuardian cloud platform for real-time monitoring, alerts, and predictive analytics.

These tools enable near real-time monitoring and data-driven insights, helping utility operators detect, locate, and address faults more quickly, ultimately reducing outages and improving service reliability. In addition, the scalable nature of the technology enables its application across a wide range of distribution and transmission environments, making it a potential solution for broader deployment opportunities in the future.

"This pilot provides an opportunity to better understand how advanced predictive monitoring technologies can support our operations and improve reliability for our customers" said Hassan Syed, Vice President, Distribution Services. "Over the course of the pilot, we'll be evaluating operational data and performance metrics related to fault detection, restoration efforts, resource deployment, and overall network visibility. The insights gained will help us determine how technologies like the Safegrid Intelligent Grid System can enhance efficiency, strengthen system resilience, and support continuous improvement across our distribution system."

About G&W Electric
G&W Electric is a leading provider of innovative power grid solutions that help utilities and grid operators protect, automate, and strengthen the electric grid. Our portfolio spans load and fault interrupting switches; reclosers; sensors; system protection equipment; power grid automation; cable accessories; and solutions for intelligent fault location, prediction, prevention and analytics.

G&W Electric is headquartered in Bolingbrook, Illinois, with production facilities in the United States, Canada, Italy, Finland, China, and Mexico — delivering on our purpose to keep the lights on and the data flowing since 1905.

For more information, visit https://www.gwelectric.com/.

About Safegrid
Safegrid, a G&W Electric Company, is a leading provider of intelligent grid solutions that help utilities and grid operators locate, predict, and prevent grid faults. With its Intelligent Grid System, Safegrid enhances grid performance and reliability using non-intrusive wireless sensors and advanced analytics, ensuring a safer and more resilient power system.

Safegrid is headquartered in Espoo, Finland, and operates as part of the G&W Electric global family of companies. For more information, visit https://safegrid.io/.

About Milton Hydro:
Milton Hydro is a local distribution company responsible for distributing electricity to more than 45,000 business and residential customers within the Town of Milton and our surrounding service area. Milton Hydro is a wholly owned subsidiary of Milton Hydro Holdings Inc., owned by the Town of Milton.

Milton Hydro has been providing safe, reliable, and affordable electricity service for nearly a century and is enabling the ‘electrification of everything’ to keep its customers powered for generations to come.

Milton Hydro Distribution Inc.
Telephone (905) 876-4611, Fax (905) 876-2044