SAIC gets $13 million contract to build out smart grid for Lakeland, Fla.

SAIC gets $13M smart grid contract for Fla. city

MCLEAN, Va. — Government contractor Science Applications International Corp. said Monday it received a contract valued at more than $13 million to manage a “smart grid” project for the city of Lakeland, Fla.

A smart grid can help communities orchestrate their energy use to lower costs, with meters telling appliances, for example, to run when overall demand for electricity is low. Under the 30-month contract, SAIC will install electric meter data management software systems, 124,000 residential electric meters and supporting networks. SAIC will also provide business process improvement, build a Web portal for customers, among other tasks.

Lakeland’s Smart Grid Initiative is aimed at helping the city reduce its annual carbon footprint by 14,000 tons. The city said the smart grid infrastructure will help it respond to future energy demand.

The contract will be supplemented by a federal matching grant awarded to Lakeland.