Department of Defense

UPDATE: DEC 10, 2014 Please note the contact information in the release has been edited from the original release. 

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

NEIL ABERCROMBIE
GOVERNOR

MAJ. GEN. DARRYLL D.M. WONG
DIRECTOR

MEDIA RELEASE

Feb. 7, 2014    #2014-002

State of Hawaii, Department of Defense (Office of Homeland Security), Hawaiian Electric, IBM, Mehta Tech Inc,Pacific Disaster Center and U.S. Pacific Command Explore Methods to Improve Energy Efficiency and Grid Operations

Honolulu, Hawaii – The State of Hawaii’s Department of Defense, which includes State Civil Defense and the Office of Homeland Security, is collaborating with Hawaiian Electric, the Pacific Disaster Center (managed by the University of Hawaii), U.S. Pacific Command, IBM and Mehta Tech Inc. to study the potential enhancement of the security, reliability, and dependability of the electric grid on Oahu and ways to apply analytics to better predict potential risks and issues, such as natural disasters. Hawaiian Electric’s customers stand to benefit from more reliable energy with this unprecedented collaboration among academia, private industry, and state and federal governments, including defense agencies.

The collaborators will use advanced network/relationship science principles and related technologies to provide necessary solutions and services focused upon Big Data acquisition and analytics. “The collaboration allows us to combine the strengths of the various public, private and civil organizations that have an interest in the challenges we face to our critical infrastructure and possibly recommend solutions that will make Hawaii a more resilient community,” said Major General Darryll Wong, Hawaii state adjutant general, Director of State Civil Defense and Homeland Security advisor.  “Essentially, this effort will ultimately be focused on building a more secure grid for Hawaiian Electric customers, while ensuring the most reliable power sources.”

By using an integrated approach that incorporates both operational and transformational information technologies, the collaborators will examine how to improve the overall grid reliability and bridge the gap between efforts to integrate alternative energy solutions and efficiently manage consumption.

As part of this study, Hawaiian Electric and its collaborators will also evaluate IBM’s Sensemaking and Watson Foundation technologies to help them analyze data, such as weather patterns, and predict outages before they occur.   Watson Foundations is a comprehensive, integrated set of Big Data and Analytics capabilities that enables clients to find and capitalize on actionable insights.

Preliminary results from the collaboration are expected to be available as early as May 2014.

# # #

For Hawaii Homeland Security questions, contact: Lt. Col. Charles Anthony, (808) 733-4258 or [email protected]

For Hawaii Governor’s Office questions, contact Randy Baldemor, (808) 586-1945 or [email protected]

For IBM i2 or IBM Center for Resiliency and Sustainability, Sensemaking and Watson technology questions, contact: Andra Strudler, Marketing Leader; Bob Griffin, General Manager; Dr. Steve Chan, Director; Al-Noor Kassam, (520) 465-6978 or [email protected]

For Mehta Tech technology questions, contact: Jim Hackett, Executive Vice President, (563) 285-9151 or [email protected] or Connie Warner, (563) 285-9151 ext. 47 or [email protected]

For Hawaiian Electric Company specific questions, contact:  Lynne Unemori, Vice President, Corporate Relations, Hawaiian Electric Company, (808) 543-7972 or [email protected]

///SIGNED///
CHARLES J. ANTHONY, Lt. Col. , HIANG
JF HQ Hawaii National Guard
Director, Public Affairs
(808) 733-4258 fax:  X4236