SAN DIEGO (Jan. 30, 2013) – GE Grid Automation and Systems Control, a GE customer, have signed a letter of intent to form a strategic relationship designed to provide utility and industrial customers in North America with a complete, modular packaged solution that can be “dropped in” to new or existing distribution electrical grid infrastructures. By purchasing this “dropped in” solution, customers no longer need to work with multiple vendors to build, engineer and integrate a new substation and control package—helping them to better control costs and make implementation easier.

“By working with GE Grid Automation—Multilin to offer their modular solutions, along with our own customized substation control houses, we can remove a layer of complexity for our customers,” said Al Bloniarz, senior vice president, Systems Control. “With this new Drop-in Protection & Control Packaged Solution, our customers will no longer need to coordinate the construction of their substation with multiple vendors. Instead, we will be able to deliver a fully functional, high-quality, factory-tested substation protection and control solution quickly.”

By using GE’s Packaged Solutions—a fully integrated, quickly deployable, modular set of solutions and services for the protection, control and automation of power systems applications—combined with Systems Control’s extensive capability in drop-in control houses, engineering and integration services, customers will be able to order a complete substation protection and control package and have it pre-fabricated, delivered and ready to be installed at their site. By utilizing a packaged solution, customers can take advantage of cost-effective, repetitive solutions to optimize their designs and installations, as well as the associated need for operation and maintenance.

“We are pleased to announce this broader relationship with Systems Control which builds on our already successful relationship with them as a highly valued GE customer,” said Juan Macias, general manger, Grid Automation. “We design our Packaged Solutions offerings to make them convenient for our customers and this solution further simplifies the process of introducing a substation protection and control system into the infrastructure of a utility or industrial customer.”

The GE and Systems Control Drop-in Protection & Control Packaged Solution for utility and industrial distribution applications will be available starting in the beginning of the second quarter 2013.

GE Grid Automation, part of GE’s Digital Energy business, provides protection and control, communications, power sensing and power quality solutions. Its products and services increase the reliability of electrical power networks and critical equipment for utility, industrial and large commercial customers. From protecting and optimizing assets such as generators, transmission lines and motors, to ensuring secure wireless data transmission and providing uninterruptible power, GE’s Digital Energy business delivers industry-leading technologies to solve the unique challenges of each customer.

Systems Control, with a well-respected reputation for its experience and capability in the T&D segments, brings an extensive value to this alliance. Systems Control is one of the North America’s largest Control Houses, Control & Relay Panel solutions and engineering integration companies with broad experience of working with large North American utilities.

Systems Control, a division of Northern Star Industries, has provided engineering and integrated solutions for more than 50 years to the utility, oil, gas and petrochemical markets.