When it was time to choose a partner, EPB was familiar with Hexagon. The company also needed an electric system that would better allow it to have more control over energy-use management as well as identify and restore power during outages more quickly. In order to connect fibre to the home - and later provide advanced communications services, such as broadband and video, to its customers - EPB needed to design fibre routes and monitor the connectivity of the best route for the most customers. When planning for the future needs of its customers as well as the business, the company decided to modernise the EPB electric system into a smart grid by adding sensors and monitoring devices to the existing electrical distribution network.ĮPB searched for a smart grid based on a fibre optic communications infrastructure that could deliver state-of-the-art communications services to residences and businesses. The city-owned distribution and telecommunications company provides power to consumers in the greater Chattanooga area. Established in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1935, EPB is one of the largest publicly owned providers of electric power in the United States.