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S&C Electric Company, EPB & U.S. DofE Reach Smart Grid Installation Milestone

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., April 24, 2012 – Today S&C Electric Company, a global leader in smart grid solutions, and EPB, one of the largest publicly-owned providers of electric power in the country, celebrates the final IntelliRupter® PulseCloser installation as part of Chattanooga’s smart grid project.

During today’s event, “Powering the 21st Century: The Role of the Smarter Grid,” there will be a live onsite installation of the final IntelliRupter® PulseCloser, a central component of EPB’s self-healing grid – which is expected to reduce outage duration by 40 percent. Following the installation, Assistant Secretary Patricia Hoffman, EPB CEO Harold DePriest, S&C President and CEO John Estey and the Chattanooga Area Chamber President and CEO Tom Ed Wilson will discuss the future of U.S. power needs and the economic case for grid intelligence at a roundtable discussion moderated by David Leeds of Greentech Media.

“Home to the country’s most automated smart grid of its size, Chattanooga is a unique success story in how the smart grid can be an economic engine, reduce power outages, improve reliability and prepare for future power demands,” says DePriest.

“EPB’s smart grid uses a very high level of smart grid automation that allows the grid to automatically respond to disturbances and minimize disruptions to electric service,” says Estey. “When an event occurs, the IntelliRupterscommunicate with one another through EPB’s high-speed fiber-optic communication network to determine the location of the event, and then automatically isolate it and reroute power to restore electric service to as many people as possible.”

According to an Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study, the national cost of power interruptions for business and residential consumers is about $80 billion annually. FINASmart devices installed out on the grid carry and direct the flow of high-voltage electricity even under the most adverse weather conditions, and rapidly and automatically respond to system conditions to reduce outage durations or prevent them altogether.

“To compete in the global economy, it’s crucial for communities like ours to ensure their electric power grid can deliver the high reliability and efficiency needed today,” says DePriest. “Grid-based developments improve the reliability of our power service without asking business or consumers to change consumption habits or report outages.”

About S&C Electric Company
S&C, with global headquarters in Chicago, USA, is applying its heritage of innovation to address challenges facing the world’s power grids and is thus shaping the future of reliable electricity delivery. The mission of employee-owned S&C is to continually develop new solutions for electricity delivery, fostering the improved efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid. Additional information about S&C is available at www.sandc.com.

About The Gig City™: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Recently hailed by the New York Times for having America’s fastest Internet (up to 1 gigabit per second available to every home and business in a 600 square mile area) and by Outside Magazine as "The Best Town Ever", Chattanooga, Tennessee, combines advanced technology infrastructure with a thriving cosmopolitan atmosphere that’s just minutes from mountains, rivers and other outdoor playgrounds. In recent years, Chattanooga’s signature lifestyle and focus on environmental stewardship has helped attract $4 billion in foreign direct investment including a Volkswagen auto assembly plant. Now, Chattanooga is putting the finishing touches on the largest and most advanced Smart Grid in the nation and using its gig network to pioneer a model for what other cities could become when bandwidth is no barrier.