EPB Selects S&C's IntelliRupter® PulseCloser and IntelliTEAM SG™

CHICAGO, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- EPB of Chattanooga Tennessee announced today that the utility has awarded S&C Electric Company a multi-million dollar, two-year contract to furnish up to 1,500 S&C IntelliRupter® PulseClosers, applied in conjunction with the S&C IntelliTEAM SG™ Automatic Restoration System. The award is funded in part by a federal stimulus grant provided by the Department of Energy. The equipment will help EPB—which serves over 168,000 homes and businesses in a 600 square mile area of eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia—achieve the highest level of electric service reliability and power quality in North America.

"We are very pleased to be working with EPB on this landmark project," said John Estey, S&C president and CEO. "EPB is uniquely positioned for leading-edge work on the Smart Grid, and S&C's solutions fit well with EPB and their plans. This project can deliver some tremendous benefits to EPB's customers and we are dedicated to helping make that happen."

S&C, a pioneer in distribution automation, offers a wide range of products for implementing Smart Grid technology, including the IntelliTEAM SG Automatic Restoration System. This universal Smart Grid solution provides self-healing, scalable, distributed-intelligence-based fault isolation and reconfiguration, and can integrate equipment from other manufacturers. S&C's IntelliRupter PulseCloser is a breakthrough in distribution system protection. It features PulseClosing Technology™, a revolutionary means for verifying that the line is clear of faults before initiating closing. PulseClosing significantly reduces stress on system components as well as voltage sags experienced by customers upstream of a fault.

"With S&C IntelliRupter PulseClosers in place on our 100 percent fiber optic system, Chattanooga Tennessee will have the most automated network of its size in the country," said David Wade, Executive Vice President and COO of EPB.  "We look forward to working with S&C and are confident that the company's products and services will help us reach our goal of a 40 percent reduction in customer outage minutes."

EPB, one of the largest municipal power distributors in the country, is currently building a 100% fiber optic communication system that will be the backbone for the utility's Smart Grid.  In October 2009, EPB was awarded $111.5 million in federal stimulus funding from the Department of Energy to expedite its Smart Grid implementation, which includes an increased number of automated switches installed on its electric grid in an expedited timeframe.

About EPB

A non-profit agency of the City of Chattanooga, EPB was established in 1935 for the sole purpose of providing electric power to the people of the greater Chattanooga area. Today, EPB is one of the largest publicly-owned providers of electric power in the country. EPB serves more than 169,000 residents in a 600 square-mile area that includes greater Chattanooga, as well as parts of surrounding counties (small parts of Bledsoe, Bradley, Marion, Rhea and Sequatchie) and areas of North Georgia (portions of Catoosa, Dade and Walker). EPB electric sales revenue was $457 million in 2008.

About S&C Electric Company

S&C, headquartered in Chicago, IL, is applying its heritage of innovation to address challenges facing the world's power grids. Employee-owned S&C has a mission to continually develop new solutions for electricity delivery, fostering the improved efficiency and reliability required for the intelligent grid. Additional information about S&C is available at www.sandc.com.

SOURCE S&C Electric Company