Power Networks LLC

Power Networks LLC is a United States-based business operating in the field of Optimum Load Shaping (OLS) technology and licensing. It is a subsidiary of Robert Cruickshank Associates (RCA), a consulting firm that also advises educational institutions on integrating sustainable energy management into their operations and curricula. Through its OLS offering, Power Networks provides products, licensing, and professional services intended to scale the adoption of ANSI-compliant Optimum Load Shaping globally, with the stated goals of reducing overall electricity costs, ensuring business continuity, grid reliability, and efficiency, and accelerating a safe transition to cleaner energy. Optimum Load Shaping is a method by which an electricity provider supplies a data signal to downstream electrical consumers to inform them of the best times to consume power. For systems capable of time-shifting load, this can decrease energy costs. A commonly cited example is an electric vehicle (EV) charger that recharges throughout the night at a time of high renewable generation and low overall system load. The OLS concept is supported by an ANSI standard, SCTE 267, created by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and the American National Standards Institute. Power Networks has also open-sourced an OLS Information Model, protocol bindings, and SDKs, and it maintains an interactive site where users can explore OLS signals. The company promotes OLS through technical and peer-reviewed literature, including a journal article cited on its website that describes potential savings of $1 billion per year and 10–20 billion pounds of CO2 per year in Texas, as well as a submission on distributed energy resources (DERs) to the Texas Public Utility Commission. Power Networks also offers an OLS EV Charging Savings Model and publishes OLS news. Its activities span products, licensing, and professional services, positioning it as a specialist vendor and standards advocate in the emerging field of load-shaping and demand-side energy management.

Power Networks LLC operates as a subsidiary of Robert Cruickshank Associates (RCA). RCA and Power Networks provide products, licensing, and professional services to globally scale the adoption of ANSI-compliant Optimum Load Shaping (OLS). The company's work centers on the OLS concept, in which an electricity provider supplies a data signal to downstream electrical consumers to inform them of the best times to consume power. For systems that can time-shift load, this can decrease energy costs; a typical example is an EV charger that recharges overnight when renewable generation is high and overall load is low. Power Networks has been involved in the development and promotion of standards and open resources around OLS. The SCTE 267 OLS U.S. National Standard was created by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and the American National Standards Institute, and Power Networks highlights ANSI compliance as central to its offering. The company has open-sourced an OLS Information Model, protocol bindings, and SDKs, and it maintains an interactive website where users can explore OLS signals. It also provides a one-page OLS product description and user guide, a short whitepaper, a peer-reviewed journal article showing savings potential of $1 billion per year and 10–20 billion pounds of CO2 per year in Texas, and a submission on distributed energy resources (DERs) to the Texas Public Utility Commission. An OLS EV Charging Savings Model and OLS news are also published on its site. RCA, the parent, additionally provides consulting to places of education, such as school buildings and campuses, in the integration of sustainable energy management into their operations and curricula. The combined mission described by the company is to reduce the overall costs of electricity and ensure business continuity, grid reliability, and efficiency while accelerating the safe transition to cleaner energy.

Specialist provider of products, licensing, and professional services for ANSI-compliant Optimum Load Shaping (OLS), aimed at reducing electricity costs and supporting grid reliability and cleaner energy transition.

• Optimum Load Shaping (OLS)

  A data signal provided by an electricity provider to downstream electrical consumers to inform them of the best times to consume power, enabling time-shifting of load to decrease energy costs.

• SCTE 267 OLS U.S. National Standard

  An ANSI standard created by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and the American National Standards Institute for Optimum Load Shaping.

• OLS Information Model, protocol bindings, and SDKs

  Open-source resources for implementing OLS.

• OLS EV Charging Savings Model

  A model for estimating savings from OLS-enabled EV charging.

1. 1Optimum Load Shape - OLSoptimumloadshape.com
2. 2About - OLSoptimumloadshape.com
3. 3Power Networks LLCwikidata.org