Duke Energy`s Broadband over Power Line deployments hit promised milestones: 6,500 homes passed !!!!!

June 12, 2007

Greenville, NC to get Ambient BPL gear

BPL auditioning for role in 5-state footprint

New technologies including BPL are what Duke Energy calls the "enabler" for its plan to become the "Utility of the Future."

The big IOU coined that phrase to help crystallize a vision that would make the Charlotte, NC firm the nation's leader in efficiency, reliability and the technology needed to make the smart grid/smart utility a reality.

We reported recently that CEO James Rogers is counting on his CTO David Mohler to make that happen (BT, 5/29).

So what's the plan?

For details on the North Carolina part of the plan, one can peruse the firm's energy efficiency program as submitted to the North Carolina Utilities Commission (link below).

But wait -- the firm sent us a breakdown of the technologies it's using or planning to use in Charlotte and Greenville, NC plus Bloomington, Ind and Cincinnati.

We report those details later in this story but first we turned to Mohler for his update on the BPL deployments and his take on technology's role in the firm's future.


Ambient pilot installed


As promised last year, Duke Energy has completed rolling out Ambient brand BPL to pass 6,000+ utility customers in Charlotte, NC, Mohler told us last week.

Duke yesterday confirmed its about 6,500.

The firm announced plans to reach that milestone last year at the UPLC's conference in Charlotte (BT, 10/3).

It also said EarthLink would be selling broadband as part of the deal but that idea has been dropped or put on the back burner.
=====

Previous article:
Ambient Advances to Expanded Deployment
This Phase to Pass 6000 Homes in Charlotte, NC
September 26, 2006 08:30 AM