PART 5 - We Asked … and You Told Us: Smart Grid Companies to Watch in 2010

Whew! We’ve reached the fifth and final installment highlighting the Smart Grid companies readers nominated as ones to watch in 2010. (If you missed any of the first four installments, they’re linked at the end.) Next up is your chance to vote, so be sure to come back to the site tomorrow.

Here’s how this works: Our team reviewed all the nominations we received and did a preliminary sort. Posted below is the fifth and final set of Smart Grid companies that made the cut. What you see are abbreviated versions of the text provided by the person who nominated the company; we have not verified the information for accuracy. Normally, we vet things before we pass them along to you. In this case, we wanted you to see what readers said themselves.

Here is the final set of nominees, selected randomly:

EMC Corp. – As utility companies begin to roll out Advanced Metering Infrastructures and prepare for the new realities of the Smart Grid, they will face the convergence of their traditional IT data centers with their industrial technologies and grid operations. By providing the underlying IT infrastructure, security, network management, storage, content management, business consulting and virtualization needs of the Smart Grid, EMC has become a technology partner of choice to today's leading edge utility organizations.

[Note from Jesse:It’s too early for me to know whether this IT stalwart will truly make a major commitment to the Smart Grid sector and build the specialized adaptations it requires. But EMC certainly has the know-how to make a contribution if it gets serious.]

EMC Web site

PCS UtiliData –PCS UtiliData’s AdaptiVolt is gaining major traction in the DA space regarding VVO.  The solution is patented in the U.S. and Canada for true real-time, closed-loop monitoring voltage out of the substation with a LVM (Line Voltage Monitor) located at the end of each feeder. No other vendor in the industry is addressing VVO the same way we are. AdaptiVolt is a proven mature solution with multiple successful deployments; it’s a next generation game changer that is providing results today.

[Note from Jesse: This small firm has been at work on this technology for years now. From where I sit, it feels as if the market is finally ready for this approach.]

PCS UtiliData Web site

Powerit Solutions -- Our industrial energy management system allows our clients, who would otherwise be massive power users, to take total control over their energy usage. By implementing our hardware/software solution into industrial environments, plant managers can gain control over costly peak demand spikes with demand control. Our customers can get paid for the energy they don’t use with local demand response programs and automatically adjust power usage based on real-time electricity prices with our real-time pricing module.

[Note from Jesse: Powerit was early to the idea of intelligently managing electricity use “inside the fence,” then interfacing with the utility to participate in demand response programs. As we’ve said before, we predict this approach will gain lots of traction this year and will see entries from some of the giants such as Siemens and Schneider.]

Powerit Solutions Web site

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SmartSynch – In December 2009, SmartSynch introduced the GridRouter, the first smart grid solution of its kind to be interoperable with other industry solutions and ease utilities’ fears of technology obsolescence thanks to its remotely upgradeable capabilities. With the GridRouter, SmartSynch has redefined how smart meters, appliances and networks work together and the company is fostering an ecosystem of innovation by embracing industry-wide collaboration with competitors and network providers.

[Note from Jesse: I am already on record that SmartSynch and its GridRouter are worth watching. Although the company is high on cellular, its products are essentially agnostic, a smart strategy in a fast-changing market.]

SmartSynch Web site

Be sure to come back tomorrow to vote for your favorite. We've got 25 nominees and by the end of the week we'll know which ones SGN readers think should be among the top 10 Smart Grid companies to watch this year.

More on SGN …

PART 1: Smart Grid Companies to Watch

PART 2: Smart Grid Companies to Watch

PART 3: Smart Grid Companies to Watch

PART 4: Smart Grid Companies to Watch

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