By Greentech Lead Team: Silver Spring Networks, a smart
grid networking platform and solutions provider, has signed agreements with
Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), a unit of Exelon Corporation, to deploy its Smart
Energy Platform.
The agreement is for networking nearly 4 million homes
and businesses and Distribution Automation devices under the recently enacted
Energy Infrastructure Modernization Act (EIMA), a key initiative for the state
of Illinois.
ComEd’s 10-year, $2.6 billion Infrastructure Investment
Plan invests $1.3 billion to strengthen the electric system and another $1.3
billion to add new smart grid technology.
The modernization effort will create more than 2,000
equivalent jobs at peak in construction, engineering, IT, dispatching,
equipment distribution and energy efficiency.
Once the agreement is reviewed by the Illinois Commerce
Commission (ICC), ComEd will begin installing smart meters.
Silver Spring Networks will open a new office in Chicago
and set up a network operations center that will include new jobs in sales,
marketing, network operations, project management and field engineering to
support the build-out.
Previously Silver Spring and ComEd partnered on an
Advanced Metering Infrastructure pilot program which demonstrated significant
operational benefits for full-scale deployment including improved outage
management. The pilot demonstrated that providing customers with new pricing
and information options using advanced technology can produce additional
customer savings.
“We are honored to expand upon our successful partnership
with ComEd in support of their vision and commitment to better serve their
customers and prepare for the unique challenges of the 21st century,” said
Scott Lang, chairman, president and CEO of Silver Spring Networks.
The smart grid program will connect nearly 4 million
homes and businesses over a 10-year period using Silver Spring’s unified
networking platform running multiple applications, including advanced metering
and distribution automation.
Silver Spring’s secure and open networking platform
demonstrates the benefits of the smart grid and uniquely delivers against the
requirements of the groundbreaking Energy Information Modernization Act.