Arizona Public Service (APS) said last week it is implementing an advanced inverter that will help the company remotely control and communicate with residential solar panels and improve the flow of power in Arizona.

Company officials said the advanced inverter will be installed as part of residential solar panels and will allow the panels to send information and power back to the company. The company expects to use the enhanced controls to regulate how much power is released to customers and better manage the overall production of the grid as more customers become power producers instead of just consumers.

“Energy used to flow in one direction, from our power plants to a customer’s home or business,” APS Director of Technology Innovation Scott Bordenkircher said. “That is no longer true today. With the deployment of distributed generating resources like rooftop solar, energy now flows back and forth on the grid. Advanced inverters will help us better manage the grid – for the safety of our crews working on the power lines and so customers can continue to receive the reliable electricity they have come to expect from APS.”

The inverters are the next step in an effort to optimize rooftop energy production in Arizona. The program began in 2015 when APS installed 1,500 solar systems using advanced inverters to test the technology.