Eversource Energy on Thursday renewed a commitment to its energy center at UConn through an additional $7 million investment over the next three years.
The investment allows researchers at the Eversource Energy Center, housed at UConn’s Innovation Partnership Building in Storrs, to build a power grid simulator to further study how to strengthen the electric grid.
Jim Hunt, the utility’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs and chief communications office, said the investment will help the center develop grid resiliency, cyber and physical security and grid modernization. This helps reduce storm hazards and increase the “reliability” of the grid, Hunt said.
The ongoing partnership also provides additional educational benefits for UConn students working at the center, officials said.
Founded in 2013, the partnership started with two pilot projects including power outage forecasting and forest management. The center’s team also collaborates with the Electric Power Research Institute on storm damage recovery and the Gas Technology Institute on remote sensing-based monitoring of natural gas and electrical infrastructure, among other functions.
Eversource says it has invested about $9 million into the research center in an effort to build a reliable electric system.
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