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Tantalus TruSense pilot delivered new circuit‑level visibility; company seeks no‑cost extension after permitting delays
Summary
Tantalus Systems told PURA its TruSense meter‑socket gateway produced high‑frequency circuit telemetry and front‑of‑meter value but that local permitting and the project's classification as customer‑owned equipment limited installations; Tantalus asked PURA to allow a no‑cost extension through March 31, 2027 to collect a full winter season of data.
Pete Landa, president and CEO of Tantalus Systems, presented the consortium’s TruSense gateway pilot to the PURA commissioners and described combined front‑of‑meter circuit telemetry and behind‑the‑meter demand‑flexibility demonstrations in UI territory.
Tantalus reported near‑continuous, high‑frequency telemetry that identified sustained outages, blinks and transformer loading patterns on two circuits where the gateway was installed. The company said it validated nearly 100% baseline elimination for controlled electric water‑heater events and estimated each flex‑capacity water heater provided roughly 5.5 kilowatt‑hours of controllable demand.
Landa and consortium colleagues said a critical deployment constraint was that UI treated the TruSense gateway as customer‑owned equipment, which triggered local permitting and inspection requirements in Bridgeport and Fairfield. That permitting requirement substantially increased installation time (projected 30 minutes per site grew to roughly 90 minutes), reduced the operating window and caused participant attrition. "Treating the TruSense gateway as utility equipment or other devices like the TruSense gateway that may be deployed in the field in the future would remove most of the barriers that constrained this pilot," Landa said.
Tantalus requested a no‑cost extension through March 31, 2027, saying it would cover incremental cellular and software hosting costs and allow the pilot to collect winter season data and better evaluate behind‑the‑meter flexibility. United Illuminating acknowledged the front‑of‑meter visibility provided valuable operational data but cautioned that continuing the pilot would require discussions about cost recovery, resource allocation and whether additional installations are warranted.
The program administrator scored Tantalus’ deployment 64%, noting strong participation in underserved communities (about 87% of participant households) but a near‑zero cost‑effectiveness score driven by installation delays and conservative assumptions about hardware useful life. The program administrator said it has no objection to a no‑cost extension, subject to PURA direction on oversight and reporting for any extended period.
