Ambient signs smart-grid communication deal- worth a minimum of $50 million

Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 12:53pm EDT
Ambient signs smart-grid communication deal
Boston Business Journal

Ambient Corp. announced Wednesday it has signed a long-term agreement with Duke Energy Corp. to provide the communications infrastructure for the next phase of Duke Energy’s smart-grid deployment project.

Newton, Mass.-based Ambient said the deal, worth a minimum of $50 million, calls for the company to supply its communications node, which transmits data from smart meters to Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke’s (NYSE: DUK) operations center. The company has been working with the utility on smart-grid projects since 2005.

“Duke is pleased to expand our relationship with Ambient through the execution of this agreement. Ambient’s two-way communication node advances our vision of building a smart grid intelligent network that supports the integration of numerous devices on the grid,” Todd Arnold, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of smart grid and customer systems, said in a statement.

The utility is looking to expand its smart grid to about 700,000 end users in Ohio as well as communities in Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina and Kentucky.