The Channel Islands Electricity Grid (CIEG) is the first organisation to deploy new web-based Infoterra service in order to protect its critical power lines between France and the Channel Islands

16th March 2010 - Today Infoterra launched AssetMonitor, a new submarine asset protection service aimed at helping to protect valuable underwater assets - such as electricity and telecoms cables and oil and gas pipelines - from accidental damage by anchors and fishing activity. The company is also pleased to announce that the Channel Islands Electricity Grid (CIEG), a joint venture between Guernsey Electricity and Jersey Electricity, has become the first organisation to deploy AssetMonitor, and will use it to protect the two 90,000 volt submarine cables that supply power and fibre optic communications from France to Jersey and onwards to Guernsey.

Damage to undersea assets due to shipping is a significant global problem, resulting in interrupted services, expensive repairs and the uncertain availability of suitable repair vessels. Current trends show that incidences of submarine asset damage are likely to increase with the deployment of offshore wind farms and marine turbines. Infoterra's new web based AssetMonitor solution uses live shipping vessel positions and data from the shipboard Automatic Identification System (AIS) broadcast system - in conjunction with Route Position Lists for undersea assets - to generate automatic warnings if an asset may be at risk due to shipping activity.

AssetMonitor enables the customer to define protection zones around its cables or pipelines and configure rules based upon AIS data to identify vessels that may be a hazard - for example vessels that are trying to anchor or dragging anchor close to the cables. If a vessel breaks one of the rules in the protection zone, then a warning will automatically be raised in the organisation's control room. Email and SMS messages can then be triggered, depending upon the severity of the event.

"The Jersey and Guernsey submarine cables are a key part of the Channel Islands infrastructure, supplying some 97 percent of Jersey's and up to 80 per cent of Guernsey's annual electricity requirements. The cables also carry high capacity fibre optic communication cables that allow the Channel Islands' financial services sector to operate globally on a 24/7 basis. Clearly any interruption to either service would have significant implications for the economy of both Guernsey and Jersey," commented Sally-Ann David, Director, Channel Islands Electricity Grid.

"The decision to implement the AssetMonitor system makes business sense to the CIEG. One of our key objectives is to provide greater security for the critical infrastructure of the Channel Islands and we believe that this system will help us achieve this," continued Sally-Ann David.

Dave Curry, Infoterra's Product Development Manager for AssetMonitor, added: "Repairs to damaged submarine assets are always expensive - not just for insurance companies, but also in terms of the broader economic implications when a critical service is interrupted. That's why the primary aim of AssetMonitor is to prevent expensive submarine damage incidents by giving vessels plenty of warning if they are slowing down or anchoring in a 'protected' submarine area. We believe if just a single incidence of undersea damage can be avoided, then AssetMonitor will have paid for itself many times over."

- ends -


Notes to Editors:

For further information, please contact:
Cheryl Billson, Infoterra PR, 07791 720460
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

About CIEG
The Channel Islands Electricity Grid is a joint venture company set up in 1998 between Guernsey Electricity and Jersey Electricity to manage the business opportunities presented by the submarine cable interconnectors to Europe and between the Islands. The CIEG manages the bulk electricity supply contract from Europe and seeks to improve network reliability and optimise generation by encouraging greater cooperation between the two owning companies, reducing local emissions and ensuring a more secure electricity supply for customers.

There are two 90,000-volt submarine cables that supply power from France to Jersey and on to Guernsey. The first cable was installed in 1984, is fluid filled for insulation and is capable of supplying up to 55 MW of power. The second cable uses XLPE plastic for insulation and was commissioned in 2000, and it can provide the islands with up to 90 MW of power from Europe. The CIEG now supplies between 50 to 80% of Guernsey's and 95% of Jersey's annual electricity power requirements and usually meets the full island load for almost 9 months of the year. Annually, the CIEG imports nearly 1,000 GWh from Europe.

www.electricity.gg/about/cableLink.asp

About Infoterra Ltd
Infoterra Ltd is a leading provider of geographic information products and services. Its portfolio of geographic information solutions includes airborne and satellite data acquisition, geo-information creation, database management and outsourced hosting. Infoterra provides geospatial knowledge to companies worldwide to help them make informed decisions. The company has major customers in government, defence, insurance, utilities, engineering and oil, gas & mineral exploration.

Infoterra Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Astrium, Europe's leading space systems and services specialist. Infoterra Ltd, which incorporates Imass Ltd, is part of the Spot Infoterra, the Earth Observation Division of Astrium Services.

www.infoterra.co.uk