IBEC's GRID2020 Acquires Canada's Kinects

  • Posted on: 4 May 2011
  • By: chw staff

Setting the stage for ibec GLOBAL to help reduce international electricity pilferage, IBEC's GRID2020, a leading Smart Grid, real-time demand response and energy management solutions company, has acquired Kinects Solutions, Inc., a Canadian pioneer of transformer monitoring technologies and products related to detecting energy losses through diversion.

"We are delighted to welcome aboard the talented members and valuable product line of Kinects Solutions, Inc. This addition to our GRID2020 group completes our foundational focus of providing Open Standard Broadband over Power Line (BPL) turn-key integration while simultaneously providing stand alone capable solutions," said Scott E. Lee, Chief Executive Officer of International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc. (IBEC), a leading international provider of Smart Grid Communications through BPL technology based in Huntsville, Alabama, and parent company of GRID2020 and ibec GLOBAL.

"The Kinects Solutions acquisition pairs well with our October 2010 purchase of GRID2020 and sets the stage for our company to provide the electric industry with an Open Standard communications network that seamlessly provides real-time load management, connectivity, energy management, critical pilferage detection solutions, and a myriad of services including end-user broadband access," Lee added.

Although not commonly published, many utilities around the globe quietly concede that hundreds of millions of dollars are pilfered annually from their electricity grids, thus making ibec GLOBAL a multi-billion dollar savings solution provider. With Kinects, ibec GLOBAL now has the ability to install another vital reconciliation node on the utility grid, in this case at the transformer.

David Harris, Chief Executive Officer of Kinectrics, (parent company of Kinects Solutions, www.kinectssolutions.com) said, "The Kinectrics leadership is exceptionally pleased to transition ownership of Kinects Solutions to the IBEC family.  Since 2007, we have invested in the product creation aspects of Kinects, and realized that it was proper time in Kinects' evolution to identify a 'next generation' owner.  We have found the vision, market focus, resolve, and culture of the IBEC team to be an excellent  fit for advancing the interests of Kinects Solutions."

Using ibec GLOBAL's proven BPL technology and suite of Smart Grid solutions, utilities around the world can create two-way, real-time Smart Grid communications networks on their grids to improve internal energy system efficiencies and grid management.  

Alan Snook, VP Operations of ibec GLOBAL remarked, "This acquisition coupled with GRID2020 and the IBEC BPL pipe positions us to successfully fulfill our vision of delivering Smart Grid and valuable ancillary services to utilities and consumers throughout the world."

Launched in January 2010, ibec GLOBAL (www.ibecglobal.com) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBEC.  In October 2010, IBEC acquired GRID2020, (www.grid2020.com) a Real-Time Demand Response and Energy Management solutions company based in Richmond, Virginia. IBEC (www.ibec.net) is the largest BPL provider in the world given its land miles deployed and quantity of active BPL assets managed.

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