UK Energy Minister Opens Europe’s First Smart Grid Center at
GE Energy’s UK Headquarters
Lord Hunt “Encouraged by Proven Technology Solutions to Power United Kingdom with Cleaner Energy”
BRACKNELL, United Kingdom--Wednesday, December 02, 2009-- U.K. Energy Minister Lord Hunt today
officially opened Europe’s first Smart Grid Center at a ceremony held at GE Energy’s Bracknell
headquarters. The new center supports the United Kingdom’s effort to help consumers use energy more
efficiently and cut carbon emissions.
In his remarks at the event, Lord Hunt cited “the need for a concerted effort to build a smarter
electricity grid” and called on utilities, technology companies and consumers “to work together with
government for a smarter energy future.”
The technologies that will improve energy efficiency for consumers across the United Kingdom will be
showcased at GE’s (NYSE: GE) new Smart Grid Center, the first of its kind in Europe. The center offers
visitors the first-ever “generation to appliances” view of the smart grid, showing utilities, government
and consumers the many dramatic energy-management and carbon footprint-reducing advances
available today.
“With increasing global demand for energy and on the eve of the Copenhagen climate change talks, now
is the time to re-think how we deliver smarter, cleaner and more efficient electricity,” said Magued
ElDaief, managing director of GE Energy U.K. “In addition to participating in the global dialogue to plan a
better energy future, GE has been building and testing real-world solutions that are ready to deploy
today.”
At the event, the government announced the publication of a smart grid policy document and the
results of a “2050 Vision document” drafted by the Energy Networks Strategy Group.
”The U.K. government’s goal of installing smart meters in every home by 2020 is a valuable step towards
smarter energy usage,” said ElDaief. “In the United Kingdom, GE already provides grid management
technologies for 13 of the 14 distribution network operators. Our solutions at the Smart Grid Center
show how we can further maximize performance from power plants to neighborhood distribution and
ultimately consumer usage in the home, the school and the workplace.
“We invite utilities, scientists, government officials and engineers to visit our Smart Grid Center and
work together towards a cleaner, smarter, more efficient energy future,” concluded ElDaief.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that's built to meet essential world
needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves
customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.
GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use of
natural resources. With 60,000 global employees and 2008 revenues of $38.6 billion, GE Energy
www.ge.com/energy is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery
technologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy - GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE
Oil & Gas - work together to provide integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy
industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind,
solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.
For more information, visit the company’s Web site at www.ge.com GE is imagination at work.