Grid Net Attracts Big Name Investors, Leaves Policy to Utilities
Monday, April 19th, 2010 
Greentech Media recently reported that Cisco has joined Intel and GE in making equity investments in broadband smart grid startup Grid Net.
According to Grid Net’s web site, the company’s “software platforms provide an online, real-time view and control of the Smart Grid network.”
The company’s PolicyNet software centralizes management and control of “enterprise policies,” AKA business rules, that can be used in connection with millions of smart grid devices.
Grid Net owns a couple of U.S. patent applications, including Application Pub. No. 2008/0219239 (’239 Application), which appears to cover the PolicyNet product.
The ‘239 Application is entitled “Policy-based utility networking” and is directed to systems and methods for policy-based networking of an electric grid.
The ‘239 Application describes a policy-based residential networked meter such as an energy switch router device. To make your head spin for just a moment, the application says the device:
serves as an essential internetworked, intelligent, sensor, meter, recorder, controller, policy enforcer, and service delivery platform device that is coupled to a predictive, self-adaptive, self-optimizing, fault-sensing, self-healing, and secure intelligent electric grid infrastructure
Got all that? Essentially, the disclosed policy networking system allows a utility company to integrate many different smart grid and metering features into a single device.
The utility can then control and manage it all according to its chosen “policy,” i.e., the rules, conditions and actions the utility implements for, say, optimizing the energy efficiency of its customers.
Partial and full acquisitions of smart grid startups are increasingly commonplace. Another Greentech Media article reported that EnerNoc also bought a few startups recently, including a Colorado energy management startup called SmallFoot.
