The fiber-optic smart grid network will allow EPB to offer state-of-the-art services such as smart or advanced metering technology, developed in cooperation with Tantalus Systems Corp., and will use a combination of fiber optic and wireless networks to communicate data and usage metrics on customer consumption. This information will be leveraged to manage new energy efficiency, dynamic pricing and power quality programs.
The smart-grid project will also have a positive economic impact on the region. An independent analysis of the value of the project conducted by finance and engineering experts at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Tennessee State University forecast that the project will create over 4,700 new, permanent jobs and $848 million in new payroll, taxes and investment for the regional economy over ten years.
Over the last three years EPB has invested $134 million to build a fiber-optic network with the assistance of Alcatel-Lucent, the end-to-end solutions integrator for the deployment. Through its research arm, Bell Labs, Alcatel-Lucent will develop new modeling tools for customer, distribution and transmission level metrics which Medium will utilize in providing information architecture, design, and application integration for the management and customer portals.
The implementation of the Smart Grid and these tools will usher in a new era of energy management, efficiency and sustainability for EPB and its customers.
