BC Business
BCBusiness Innovators 2012, Awesense Wireless | BCBusinessBack: 2012 BCBusiness Guide to Innovation
Congratulations to Awesense Wireless Inc., #5 in 2012's Most Innovative Companies in B.C.
Helping a company recover financial losses is an attractive business plan, and when those losses are in the billions, you’re going to pique some serious interest. Awesense Wireless Inc. developed mobile sensors and a monitoring system that help Canadian utility companies isolate and correct losses in the electrical distribution grid. While Awesense currently serves only the Canadian market, it estimates that avoidable losses amount to more than $10 billion annually for utilities throughout North America.
Awesense isn’t the only company to offer such services, but it claims its wireless system pinpoints areas of power loss within a matter of days, compared to weeks or months for traditional methods. Awesense CEO Mischa Steiner-Jovic explains that the company’s mobile sensors are its defining advantage, adding that the technology guarantees no power disruption to the customer and a wireless sensor eliminates the need for bucket trucks.
In September 2011 Awesense won the $40,000 BC Hydro Sustainability prize in the B.C. Innovation Council’s New Ventures Competition, capturing the judges’ attention for its quick-to-market product and novel monitoring software. Bob de Wit, executive director of New Ventures B.C. and CEO and director of GreenAngel Energy Corp., describes Awesense’s mobile monitoring system as “disruptive,” saying, “it’s quick and easy to deploy and not a capital expense.”