What are SAIDI and SAIFI, and why do they matter to utilities?

SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) measures the average minutes of outage per customer per year. SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) measures the average number of outages per customer per year. Both are standard reliability benchmarks utilities report to regulators, and reducing either directly improves customer satisfaction and regulatory standing.

What is a distributed energy resource (DER)?

A DER is a small-scale power source connected to the distribution grid — most commonly rooftop solar, battery storage, or EV chargers. Because DERs push power back into the grid rather than only consuming it, they create bi-directional flows that require finer-grained monitoring than one-way traditional distribution.

What does "C&I" mean in the utility context?

C&I stands for Commercial and Industrial — the customer segment covering manufacturing plants, hospitals, data centers, airports, and other large operations. C&I customers typically account for the majority of a utility's revenue and are the most sensitive to power quality issues that can shut down production lines or critical equipment.

How is UbiGrid DTM+ different from a smart meter?

A smart meter reports consumption data on 15-minute intervals, primarily for billing. UbiGrid DTM+ samples voltage and current 7,800 times per second at the distribution transformer, and monitors oil temperature and pressure — data smart meters don't measure at all. DTM+ augments smart meters rather than replacing them.

What is real-time distribution transformer monitoring?

Continuous sensor-based monitoring of individual distribution transformers, capturing voltage, current, oil temperature, and pressure, and streaming that data to the utility's operations platform. It enables predictive maintenance (weeks of advance warning before equipment failure), remote outage diagnosis, and power-quality event triangulation.

Why does grid visibility matter for wildfire prevention?

Phase-to-phase faults have high spark potential and are a leading cause of utility-ignited wildfires. Real-time fault detection combined with weather and fire-risk data lets utilities identify high-risk faults immediately and de-energize specific spans when fire conditions peak, rather than blanket shut-offs that inconvenience customers unnecessarily.

Real-Time Grid Monitoring for Utilities

How continuous visibility improves reliability, reduces risk, and protects communities.

Real-time distribution transformer monitoring — sampling voltage and current thousands of times per second — gives utilities the grid visibility they need to prevent outages, reduce fire risk, and improve reliability at scale. It's how modern utilities close the gap between 15-minute smart-meter data and the second-by-second reality of the grid.

The challenges make this urgent. Precipitous load growth, aging infrastructure, distributed energy resources, and an increasingly unpredictable climate mean utilities today face more complexity than possibly any other time in modern history. Meanwhile, the task of providing safe, reliable, and affordable power has never mattered more — modern life and modern economies demand it.

Utilities can't manage what they can't see. The proliferation of data points from today's bi-directional grids makes holistic, integrated visibility a necessity, not a nice-to-have. But data alone isn't enough — it has to be usable and produce quality insights. By monitoring distribution transformers and other key assets in real time (rather than at 15-minute intervals), utilities improve power quality and reliability, mitigate risks before they become outages, and recover faster when extreme weather strikes.

"With the right solutions, any utility, regardless of size, can take a data-driven approach to improving their operations. It starts with an ecosystem of rich, high-resolution data and then applying both AI-driven analysis and human expertise to use that data to meet genuine business needs."

— Sam Holden, Director of Data Science, Ubicquia

Real-time grid intelligence, by the numbers

7,800

DTM+ voltage & current samples per second

2B+

Grid data points Ubicquia processes daily

The core responsibility: reliability

The growth of electrification means there are ever-greater demands on grids. At the same time, those grids are increasingly bi-directional due to distributed energy resources (DERs), which increases the complexity of ensuring power quality and handling peaks and troughs.

The proliferation of smart meters is helpful in eliminating O&M from meter-to-cash operations. Smart meters, however, can't measure key aspects of transformers, the grid, or other assets — and they rely on overburdened mesh communication networks with high latency. Utilities need to augment their smart meter data with high-resolution, granular data from additional sensors.

Ubicquia's UbiGrid Distribution Transformer Monitor (DTM+), combined with the UbiVu AI-driven asset management platform, provides that visibility. DTM+ captures real-time voltage and current data sampled 7,800 times per second, and monitors the physical state of transformers, including oil temperature and pressure. Signs of potential failures, faults, or power quality issues generate immediate notifications via UbiVu's dashboard. DTM+ transmits over LTE, ensuring reliable connectivity even in remote locations.

"Combining signatures in current and voltage with physical characteristics provides a great view for asset management — a type of insight that hasn't been available on the distribution side until now."

— Sam Holden, Director of Data Science, Ubicquia

Machine-learning capabilities layered on top of that raw data identify potential problems weeks in advance, before they result in an outage or equipment failure. Utilities can implement preventive maintenance and stop outages before they happen, and because these insights pinpoint individual transformers, they cut costly truck rolls to locate an issue. This proactive approach improves reliability scores like SAIDI and SAIFI as well as customer satisfaction metrics like Net Promoter Score (NPS) and CSAT. It also optimizes OpEx — through saved truck rolls and extended asset life — and shifts OpEx toward CapEx by delaying replacement.

Visibility at this level is particularly valuable with commercial and industrial (C&I) customers whose power quality issues can propagate to other customers or parts of the grid.

"Power quality event identification, triangulation of location and establishment of cause — these elements give you visibility and insights to know exactly what's happening. With these insights, utilities improve complaint resolution and save money on diagnostics and maintenance."

— Sam Holden, Director of Data Science, Ubicquia

Four use cases real-time monitoring unlocks

Fault detection & preventive maintenanceMachine learning identifies transformer problems weeks in advance and pinpoints individual assets, cutting reactive truck rolls and extending equipment life.

Fire-risk mitigationPhase-to-phase faults have high spark potential. Real-time fault detection combined with weather and fire-risk data creates localized maps to guide targeted de-energization instead of blanket shut-offs.

Vegetation managementPower quality events correlated with weather data reveal where high winds and precipitation are driving branches into power lines — enabling condition-based trimming rather than static, calendar-based schedules.

Crew safety & DER awarenessAdvance warning of damaged poles, transformer oil leaks, and distributed-energy backfeed lets field staff bring the right equipment and safety precautions on every call.

Reducing risk and protecting communities

Visibility into faults, weather-driven vegetation risk, and equipment integrity does more than protect a single utility's assets — it protects the entire community that depends on the grid. Fault-type differentiation guides emergency management toward the highest-risk spans instead of blanket shut-offs. Advance warning on damaged poles and transformer failures lets field crews arrive with the right equipment and safety precautions. Awareness of distributed energy backfeed keeps line workers safe during repairs.

None of this is possible without a data foundation. Real-time monitoring platforms combined with AI-driven analytics and industry expertise let utilities stay ahead of power quality challenges, stretch OpEx budgets by cutting reactive truck rolls, and build the grid resiliency their communities need. The tools exist to meet this moment.

"The DTM+ is an affordable solution that provides any utility with truly actionable insights that are greater than the sum of their parts."

— Sam Holden, Director of Data Science, Ubicquia

About this white paper

Produced by studioID for Ubicquia in partnership with Utility Dive. studioID is Industry Dive's global content studio, delivering deep industry expertise, first-party audience insights, and an editorial approach to brand storytelling.