Cyber Switching Targets Smart Grid Infrastructure to Prevent Outages.

Energy Editors/Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 9, 2003

Cyber Switching, Inc. has announced two new families of energy management products to build increased reliability into the nation's electrical power grid. The Dualcom and Tricom lines are expected to make a major impact on how industry and commercial firms across the nation manage their electrical usage and assist in stabilizing power grids.

The Northeast power outage of August 14, 2003, which affected about 50 million people, is a stark reminder of how critical energy management is to the essential delivery of electrical power. Only consistent, uninterrupted power delivery can sustain the economic prosperity and quality of life the United States has come to expect.

While utilities and government agencies probe for a full accounting for the massive blackout, innovative companies like Cyber Switching are showing how their technology can help prevent a cascade of electrical outages through the ability to monitor power usage down to a single electrical device. Latest reports show that warning signs of an impending overload came too late to stop the vast outage.

Chuck Reynolds, founder of Cyber Switching, says real-time monitoring and early warning are basic features of his company's products.

"What separates us from everybody else is the individual current monitoring. Because of our capability there, the user can set Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) traps which will alert you to a potential problem. You can then respond accordingly through your selected management software. You don't have to monitor it, it will monitor itself."

A recent report by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) suggests the power grid for the United States is "aging and clearly needs to be modernized," and that its renovation in the next two decades could lead to major "increases in productivity and GDP growth, reduced carbon emission, and increased national security."

EPRI cites "digital control of the power delivery network" and "integration of electricity and communications" as key technical innovations to transforming the nation's grid.

Cyber Switching, a manufacturer of products to provide critical infrastructure to companies with high-availability computer networks, is one of the companies poised for leadership in renovating the power distribution grid.

Cyber Switching's success managing electrical power usage -- within corporate infrastructures, as exemplified by the parent company's vendor partnership acknowledgment with Cisco -- have paved the way for Cyber Switching to transfer its capabilities to management of power distribution on a regional grid.

For several years, Chuck Reynolds has been a member of Cisco System's electrical standards committee for testing equipment and laboratories, has developed power cycling equipment to meet Cisco's laboratory needs, and continues to do so. "Through helping Cisco in product testing and troubleshooting their designs, we develop new tools for electrical current monitoring and management," says Reynolds.

Products

Cyber Switching's announcement of the Tricom and Dualcom power management tools highlights control capabilities for industry and businesses. Both Tricom and Dualcom product families enable scheduled or manual on/off control of individual power outlets, and monitoring of current supplied by each outlet.

Tricom systems are conveniently accessible through the interfaces of TCP/IP (Web, Telnet, SNMP), serial port, and analog telephone, allowing operation independently of the network. Dualcom systems offer TCP/IP and serial port access.

Tricom and Dualcom products were directly developed to respond to the computer networking industry's needs for 24 x 7 x 365 electrical power management and for test labs at facilities located around the world. Cyber Switching is ideally positioned to demonstrate the outage prevention capabilities of its products as it has in its implementations for Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet.

Cyber Switching's efforts are also aligned with initiatives by the Energy Future Coalition, a bipartisan organization dedicated to bridging differences among business, labor and environmental groups regarding energy policy. Among the coalition's initiatives is the creation of a Smart Grid to distribute electricity. This Smart Grid would incorporate "elements of traditional and cutting edge power engineering, sophisticated sensing and monitoring technology, information technology, and communications to provide better grid performance and to support a wide array of additional 'digital age' services to consumers."

Cyber Switching, Inc. is a leading manufacturer of electric power management equipment worldwide, with a current line of more than fifty different product specifications. The privately-held company, founded in 1998 by Chuck Reynolds, president of C.H. Reynolds Electric, Inc., brings more than 33 years of experience in meeting high technology corporate needs for electrical power management.