Taurus Infoworld/GRID2020 Announce Strategic Alliance for India

PUNE, India, Aug. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Taurus Infoworld Pvt. Ltd. and GRID2020, Inc. today announced they have entered into a multi-year strategic alliance to deliver valuable Smart Grid solutions within the fast growing Indian innovation-driven marketplace via the Broadband over Power Line (BPL) route. These market leaders from India and the United States combine practical experience, innovative technologies, and the ability to properly understand the infrastructure needs of a region that is rapidly embracing and deploying cleantech technologies.

Taurus Infoworld Pvt. Ltd. of Pune is an OGALE Group company based out of India. The Group, with its flagship companies, OCB Engineers and INPAC Projects, is a respected engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) group in the power sector and is an infrastructure contractor in India. GRID2020, Inc. is a leading energy management, control, and communications solutions company based in Richmond, Virginia (USA).

Chandrashekhar Ogale, Director of Taurus Infoworld, stated, "From the first day we visited their corporate headquarters in 2010, we knew IBEC Global/GRID2020's product line and tremendous level of expertise in the Broadband over Power Line market would be an excellent match for our company.  Our vision of bringing life-changing services and solutions such as high-speed broadband and Smart Grid capabilities to the fast growing Indian market, electrical utilities, and urban and rural underserved populations in India, will be achieved as a result of our strategic alliance."

In the past year, GRID2020 has secured licensing agreements to use IBEC Global's ground-breaking Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) technology and platform.

"GRID2020 is extremely excited to formalize an agreement with Taurus Infoworld," said Alan Snook, President of GRID2020. "This strategic alliance sets the stage for strong growth and market leadership within India. We feel our two companies represent a leading-edge team that possesses vision, flexibility, quickness, and efficiency to successfully deliver a viable Smart Grid solution in the Indian marketplace. Clearly, the fine people of India realize the tremendous value in embracing technologies that will advance their society in many ways."

Using GRID2020's solutions and technology, utilities will have a two-way, real-time Smart Grid communications network that will improve their internal energy system efficiencies, identify pilferage, reduce operating and capital costs, and remotely monitor, control, and capture real-time data on energy usage.  With this BPL communications technology in place, utilities and communities will then have the ability to provide high-speed Internet services.

Snook remarked, "We are convinced that by leveraging the existing infrastructure presented by utility grids, Taurus Infoworld and GRID2020 will rapidly deploy cost effective solutions in many developing and emerging countries like India."

The newly formalized strategic alliance will assist utilities and communities across India and yield an advancement of communications services to heighten the quality of life for citizens, and maximize the efficiencies of utilities by using the same FCC-approved BPL technology that has been successfully deployed in rural America (25,000 line miles) through $60 million in U.S. Government loans.

Ogale added, "We have invested tremendous energies and resources into properly understanding the needs of this market space, and we are now poised to commence with proofs of concept and commercial deployments which will solve our customer's needs.  We will add to India's progress, and attract positive national attention in pursuit of nationwide rural deployment to serve the underserved, and empower the farmers and rural populace—which constitutes 70 percent of the Indian population—by bringing the Information Highway to their doorstep."

Contact: K.B. Forbes, [email protected]
Phone +1 (202) 320-1212

SOURCE GRID2020, Inc.