Gridware
Tim Bedford is a Principal Customer Success Manager at Gridware and brings 36 years of frontline utility experience to the role. He began his career as a Journeyman Lineman at Pacific Gas and Electric Company, advancing to senior leadership positions in Safety, Operations, Compliance, and later Principal Program Manager for Enhanced Powerline Safety. Bedford first encountered Gridware’s Active Grid Response technology in 2023, when he was tasked with validating it or failing it before PG&E would deploy it. He joined Gridware in 2025, convinced that the technology could change the industry by improving safety and reliability for employees and the public.
Customers expect utilities to maintain near-perfect uptime and high public safety; however, utilities often only learn of hazards after an outage or safety incident occurs. Utilities cannot fix what they cannot sense.
When physical and mechanical threats develop along overhead distribution circuits, operators often remain unaware until an incident escalates into an outage or public safety event. This is especially important during dangerous weather events where seconds matter.
Critically, once the power is out, lineworkers are dispatched with no insight into the hazard's type, location, or severity. They must patrol miles of power lines, often in dangerous conditions, searching for the issue before action can be taken to restore power. The time between when the hazard strikes and when the lineworker identifies it is defined as Hazard Awareness Delay.
To better understand how utilities can reduce the Hazard Awareness Delay via Active Grid Response, PUF Executive Editor Rachel Bryant spoke with Gridware's Tim Bedford, a former 36-year PG&E lineman who has held many operational leadership roles.