ABB Pledges Support For Smart Grid Stimulus

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, commended the U.S. government’s commitment to funding smart grid investments that will strengthen the economy’s ability to return to sustainable growth.

ABB, whose technologies improve reliability, flexibility and efficiency in the power system from generation to end use, pledged its full support for efforts led by the U.S. Department of Energy. The U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu yesterday announced the most recent wave of funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The term “smart grid” covers a wide range of technologies that help to generate and deliver reliable, environmentally friendly power and enable industrial, utility, commercial and residential consumers to use electricity more efficiently. Smart grid investments are being made across a diverse set of applications from improved monitoring and control systems to high-efficiency generation, transmission and distribution aimed at bringing more renewable energy resources online, and improving demand side management (smoothing out the peaks in demand for electricity).

“As the global leader in power and energy efficiency technologies, ABB applauds the Department of Energy’s announcement,” says Enrique Santacana, President and CEO of ABB Inc. and head of the company’s North American operations. “This commitment reflects the administration’s focus on improving the reliability, efficiency and sustainability of the nation’s energy infrastructure and of the way energy is consumed. We look forward to playing a major role in realizing that vision.”

In May, Santacana and a select group of industry leaders attended a White House meeting led by Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to review the use and further development of interoperability standards, a key factor in the proliferation of smart grid technologies. For more information, visit www.abb.com/smartgrids.

About ABB
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs over 120,000 people. The company's North American operations, headquartered in Cary, North Carolina, employ about 15,000 people in 20 manufacturing and other major facilities. For more information, visit www.abb.com.

SOURCE: ABB Measurement & Analytics