APS continues to pursue and implement advanced grid technologies, including transmission and distribution system technologies and digital meters enabling two-way communications between the utility and its customers. Customers have sent a clear signal with the high volumes of customer-connected technologies and as a service provider we must innovate to optimize all available tools and grid resources to maintain reliability. At the end of 2021, APS had more than 1.4 million smart meters on the APS system. APS plans to invest in advanced grid technologies, system upgrades and related management systems through several initiatives including investments in distribution line equipment and other smart grid technologies.
Learn more about our customer technologies and programs.
Energy Storage. APS deploys several advanced technologies on its system, including energy storage. Storage can provide capacity, improve power quality, be utilized for system regulation, integrate renewable generation, and, in certain circumstances, be used to defer certain traditional infrastructure investments. Energy storage can also aid in integrating higher levels of renewables by storing excess energy when system demand is low and renewable production is high, and then releasing the stored energy during peak demand hours later in the day and after sunset. APS is utilizing grid-scale energy storage projects to benefit customers, to increase renewable utilization and to further our understanding of how storage works with other advanced technologies and the grid.
In addition to aligning solar production and customer energy consumption, batteries work to improve grid resiliency. In the event of a grid outage, a utility or a customer with a battery-only installation can keep critical loads energized in the unlikely event of a grid outage.
Learn more about our clean generating technologies.

Microgrids. APS expects microgrids to play an increased role in how we support customers with critical loads, increase economic development opportunities and strengthen the grid. Microgrids are beneficial for our system and our customers as they increase reliability and resilience. Microgrids are small-scale power generating facilities — installed on customer premises that can provide backup power in case of a grid outage but can also operate while utility connected to deliver peak capacity service and frequency response. A customer with an on-site microgrid rarely, if ever, experiences a power outage. In addition, all APS customers see the benefit as the microgrid can run in parallel with the APS microgrid providing frequency response and peak capacity when needed by the grid. By sharing microgrid development costs with customers with utmost resiliency needs, cost-effective economic deployment of new grid resources may be achieved. With the potential to add energy storage to these microgrids, their responsiveness can be even further improved along with increasing flexibility and emissions reductions. Microgrids increase the potential for developing grid innovation and we have two patents that were awarded in 2021 on the systems developed in-house that enable our microgrids to perform autonomous frequency response. 
The microgrid at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma can supply complete backup power to the base in case of a grid outage.
Advanced Distribution Management System. As part of our quest to improve reliability for our customers, APS continues to invest and update in our advanced distribution management system (ADMS) for outage management, mobile device capability and advanced operations support features. APS is focused on improvements to power quality and reliability for our customers through continued application growth with automation of fault location, isolation, and service restoration and optimized voltage performance. Together, these initiatives allow our customers to benefit from improved system reliability, increased outage information, and enable effective customer technology integration, while providing grid operators with tools to provide safe, reliable, resilient and quality service. Continued ADMS Projects and future initiatives are a big step toward integrating flexible and dynamic technology that will allow us to operate the grid of the future.
Drone Technology and Predictive Maintenance. Our unmanned aircraft system (UAS) program continues to grow and provide benefits to our customers. UAS technology, commonly referred to as “drones,” allows field personnel and engineers to work safer in hazardous terrain, collect hard-to-reach imagery, and evolve engineering practice at lower costs than traditional methods for power line patrols and inspections. We currently operate a cutting-edge fleet of drones with a continued dedication to strategy, training and program development that promises to improve reliability and safety performance. We have ensured that our UAS program meets all Federal Aviation Administration requirements. UAS-mounted thermal imaging cameras and high-resolution sensors are used to inspect distribution, transmission, generation and communications equipment to determine the overall health of systems. In addition to providing improved inspection data, UAS helps us respond more quickly to outages and issues affecting the grid, such as storm damage. In the future, they may be used to survey remote transmission and distribution lines using machine learning to detect anomalies, reducing the cost to perform annual inspections for proactive maintenance.
APS is also implementing state-of-the-art robotic inspection systems. In 2021, the first FLIR first watch system was placed into service and allowed the team to perform high resolution visual inspections and infrared scans in areas that included confined spaced and personal risk. This device allows us to access an unsafe site before it is safe for people to enter. In 2022, we have also added Spot the Dog, a robot that is much more autonomous than the FLIR system and will allow the team to perform inspections with consistent results, improve efficiency and safety and perform inspections that were just not practical prior to this advancement. The addition of these tools are great strides in technology and advance a safer and more effective predictive drone maintenance team.
Learn more about our clean technology innovation partnerships.