Electric Light & Power -- an influential publication that targets utility industry professionals -- featured a story by Council Editorial Director Liz Enbysk that focused on why it is so important for utilities to get in front of the smart cities trend, in part as another opportunity to deepen and improve their customer relationships. It also discussed, as you'll see in the brief excerpt below, the role of a smart grid in smart cities. Today, the smart grid is an integral component of the bigger smart cities concept. Consider Italian utility Enel. It pioneered smart meters in Europe. Now it is jumping on the next big development by working with cities in Europe, China and Latin America on smart city pilots. Enel also has become a Lead Partner in the Smart Cities Council, an industry coalition that supports and educates cities. That coalition also includes National Grid and Electricite de France, plus companies well-known in the electric power sector: ABB Inc., Alstom, Cisco Systems Inc., General Electric Co., Itron Inc., Microsoft Corp. and S&C Electric, among others. All of them see the essential connection between utilities and the success of a smart city. Read the full EL&P article here >>
