Google smart grid news this morning, and you’ll see two major announcements: Duke Energy plans to partner with Cisco to make the power grid smarter across its 11 million customer footprint, and Chicago-based utility ComEd announced that it plans to work with Silver Spring Networks and GE for a smart meter pilot with 141,000 smart meters. Coincidence that the companies have launched dueling announcements? We think not.
While Cisco and Silver Spring have been partners on smart grid projects before, like the one from Florida utility FPL, this morning’s activity demonstrates very strategic moves by the companies to tout their separate (and competitive) plans with utilities. For FPL, Cisco was previously emphasizing how it would focus on the consumer space of the smart grid. But for its announcement with Duke this morning, the companies describe Cisco’s solution as an “end-to-end, smart grid communications architecture — one that both companies believe will be among the most comprehensive and interoperable in the electric utility industry.” The deal includes the network infrastructure and managing the inclusion of home energy management devices, and hundreds of thousands of smart meters across several states.
Cisco previously told us that it will be moving beyond the consumer portion of the smart grid space, extending its communications network all the way to the edge of the network. “We’re looking to build out a common communications infrastructure,” said Marie Hattar, VP of marketing for Cisco’s networking solutions. Hattar said that Cisco’s global footprint and reach into the deeper ranges of the network will give Cisco an advantage as utilities seek more comprehensive solutions.
via Smart Grid Duel: Cisco vs. Silver Spring | Reuters.
Related posts:
- Smart Grid on IP – Download Cisco Systems proposal
- Cisco enters smart grid technology field
- Cisco Announces Smart Grid Roadmap — Smart Grid — InformationWeek
- SK Telecom eyes smart grid for growth | Industry Summits | Reuters
- Duke hires Cisco Systems for ‘smart-grid’ system – Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:
June 12, 2009
[...] smart grid war is shaping up with news that Duke Energy and Cisco Systems signed a three-year partnership to help with the development of Duke Energy’s electric “smart grid,” and that Comed is now [...]