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Silver Spring Networks
IndustrySmart Grid
FoundedMilwaukee, Wisconsin (2002)[1]
Headquarters
San Jose, California, U.S.
Area served
U.S., Australia, Canada, Latin America, UK, Europe, Asia
Key people
Mike Bell, President and CEO
ProductsIPv6-based smart grid communications network, demand response, demand automation, utility management software, consumer web portal
Websitesilverspringnet.com

Silver Spring Networks, a subsidiary of Itron, is a provider of smart grid products, headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices in Australia, Singapore, Brazil, and the United Kingdom. Besides communications devices, Silver Spring Networks develops software for utilities and customers to improve energy efficiency.[2] Founded in 2002 backed by venture capital, Silver Spring Networks went public on the New York Stock Exchange on March 13, 2013.[3] Itron acquired Silver Spring Networks in January 2018 for $830 million.[4][5]

History

Silver Spring Networks was founded in July 2002 as Real Time Techomm in Butler, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee.[6][7] Original founders included Eric Dresselhuys who had worked on related technology since 1995, and Keith Burge. In 2002, funding came from Denver angel investor Jack Thompson. The company adopted the name of the street in Milwaukee of its original office and was relocated to San Mateo, California in 2003. At this time, Foundation Capital invested $8 million in the company and Raj Vaswani joined the founding team. Ray Bell became interim CEO and chief technology officer, but left to found Grid Net in 2005.[8] Other investors included Northgate Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Google.[9] The company moved its headquarters to San Jose in 2016.[10]

The first large pilot deployment was started in 2007 with Florida Power & Light (FPL) in southern Florida. In 2008, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) signed an agreement to provide the company's smart meters, and remained the largest customer for at least several years. On July 7, 2011, Silver Spring Networks filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise up to $150 million in an initial public offering.[11] Silver Spring Networks went public under the listing symbol SSNI on the New York Stock Exchange on March 13, 2013, raising about $81 million.[3][12]

Technology

Silver Spring Networks develops equipment that creates wireless mesh networks and transmits energy consumption data between meters, consumers and utilities in real time. The software indicates how much money is spent on electricity and indicates how much can be saved if one switches to energy-efficient models.[13][14] The meters in the PG&E deployment include two radios: one in the unlicensed ISM band of 902 to 928 MHz for communication back to the utility provider, and another intended for future communication to a home network.[15] The technology has low bit rate requirements, but also needs to be very low cost.[16]

Silver Spring is a partner with more than 40 companies and provides additional applications to utilities and customers on the Smart Energy Platform like smart thermostats, in-home displays, and electric vehicle (EV) charging technology.[17][18]

Silver Spring began its technology offering with a smart grid network based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, which was advocated for the smart grid by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other smart grid experts.[19] Silver Spring expanded on the network to smart grid application software that includes demand response (DR), demand management[2] and other services for utilities and their customers.[17]

In October 2009 Silver Spring acquired Greenbox Technology, and developed its web-based software into a product called CustomerIQ.[11] In an Oklahoma Gas & Electric pilot program involving 2,500 homes in the summer of 2010 on Silver Spring’s Smart Energy Platform, participants saw an average energy use drop of up to 33 percent during the highest price periods. The pilot consisted of several groups using Silver Spring’s web-based energy management solution as well as smart thermostats and in-home energy displays on various dynamic pricing schemes.[20]

References

  1. ^ Rebecca Buckman (February 25, 2009). "Silver Spring's Smart Look At Power". Forbes. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Michael Kanellos (October 19, 2010). "Silver Spring Gets Into Demand Response: It will take on OPower and others in a software cavalcade". Greentech Media. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Silver Spring Networks, Inc". NYSE Listings Directory. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  4. ^ "Itron to Acquire Silver Spring Networks in Smart Grid/Smart City Mega-Merger". Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Itron Completes Acquisition of Silver Spring Networks to Drive Innovation and Growth in IoT". Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  6. ^ Tom Still (July 16, 2011). "Capital is needed to keep success stories in state". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  7. ^ "Notice of Sale of Securities". Form D. US Securities and Exchange Commission. August 2, 2002. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  8. ^ Edward Robinson (August 14, 2009). "EnerNOC Returns 260% From Lowering Lights in 2009's Power Grid". Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  9. ^ Spencer E. Ante (February 18, 2009). "Silver Spring: A Growing Presence in Green Tech". Business Week. Archived from the original on February 22, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  10. ^ George Avalos (November 11, 2015). "Silver Spring Networks expands into north San Jose". Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  11. ^ a b Silver Spring Networks, Inc. (July 7, 2011). "Form S-1: Registration Statement Under The Securities Act of 1933". US Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  12. ^ Sean Ludwig (March 13, 2013). "'Smart grid' biz Silver Spring Networks pops 29% in IPO debut". Venture Beat. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  13. ^ Matthew Lynley (July 8, 2011). "Nearly profitable smart grid developer Silver Spring Networks files for IPO". VentureBeat. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  14. ^ "5 Green Tech Stars To Know @ Green:Net '11". Earth2Tech. April 6, 2011.
  15. ^ Richard A. Tell (October 27, 2008). "Supplemental Report on An Analysis of Radiofrequency Fields Associated with Operation of the PG&E SmartMeter Program Upgrade System" (PDF). PG&E. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  16. ^ George Flammer (March 19, 2008). "the Smart Grid". Presentation to IEEE 802.15. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  17. ^ a b Jesse Berst (February 15, 2011). "The evolution of Silver Spring Networks (and what it means to the rest of us)". Smart Grid News. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  18. ^ "Smart grid's Silver Spring to unveil Prius charging technology". Venture Beat. 2011-01-05.
  19. ^ Katie Fehrenbacher (September 7, 2010). "It's Official: The Future of the Smart Grid Is IP". GigaOm. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
  20. ^ "OG&E Finds Time of Use Pricing Sweet Spot". Greentech Media. 2011-02-14.

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