Convergys partners with utilities for smarter grid (Cincinnati)
Big opportunity may lie ahead for Convergys Corp. as it pursues contracts to deploy its billing software for utility companies building new “smart grids.”
A deal with Duke Energy, signed last year, is just a starting point. Convergys officials hope to announce more such agreements this year with some of the country’s 3,200 other electric utilities.
Cincinnati-based Convergys, a Fortune 500 company that had 2009 revenue of $2.8 billion, may also compete for deals in areas as diverse as Korea, Israel, Italy, Germany, Brazil and Singapore, said Bob Lento, the company’s president of information management.
“One thing they have in common,” Lento said, “is that they all have customer information systems that can’t support smart grids.”
A smart grid is a power distribution system that uses digital technology, including advanced meters and other equipment, to allow a two-way “conversation” between a utility and its customers. Duke says it will allow it to “quickly detect and resolve problems, prevent and shorten power outages, improve service reliability and give customers information to better manage their energy use.”
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