Cisco invests in smart grid start-up
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Bangalore: With an interest in smart grid infrastructure, Cisco raises equity investment in a smart grid start-up, GridNet, reports Candace Lombardi from the CNET News. However, the sum of Cisco's investment in GridNet was not disclosed, but the start-up now has another feather in its cap in terms of big-name investors. GridNet, which has offices in San Francisco and Sydney, has an array of smart-grid products including two software platforms. One is a smart meter integration system for residential home use. The other is a real-time platform for utilities and suppliers that offers automated integration and distribution of power supplies, as well as tools for electricity demand management. The infrastructure is built to meet "regulatory and governmental Smart Grid interoperability and cybersecurity standards," according to GridNet. In addition to the Cisco investment, GridNet's investors now also include GE Energy Financial Services and Intel Capital, as well as several other venture capital firms. Cisco announced in its first quarter 2010 earnings report that it had formed a "Smart Grid Technology advisory board," as well as established an industry organization called Smart Grid Ecosystem to lobby for the adoption of an IP standard for smart-grid communications. The organization includes other major players like Oracle and Siemens among its members. At the time, Christian Feisst, industry lead utilities for the Cisco Internet Solutions Business Group, said in a statement that smart grids were an obvious next step for Cisco given its core strengths. "The control of electric current is very similar to the management of information flow, so smart grids operate on principles similar to those behind the Internet. The exception is that electricity systems have a much greater number of nodes. This is where we are able to apply our expertise, integrating and processing crucial information that helps enable electricity consumption to be optimized," he said.

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