The GridWiseAlliance has announced that 17 companies and organizations have joined its efforts to transform the nation's electric power system. New members of the Alliance include ABB, Aegis Technologies, Alcatel-Lucent, Ambient Corporation, Arcadian Networks, Autodesk, CMEA Ventures, Constellation Energy, Consumers Energy, ESRI, Energy-Insights, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft Corporation, Serveron Corporation, SmartSynch, Tollgrade Communications and the Utilities Telecom Council.

"We are pleased to welcome these companies as members of the GridWise Alliance. They represent many of this nation's foremost organizations working in the areas of electricity generation, transmission and management." said Guido Bartels, chairman of the GridWise Alliance and general manager of IBM's Global Energy and Utilities Industry. "In an industry embarking on a major transformation, we are pleased to have the new member's creativity and innovation as part of the Alliance," he went on to say.

"By passing the new energy bill, Congress has signaled a significant shift in our nation's energy policy," said Tom Standish, GridWise Alliance Membership and group president and  chief operating officer of the Regulated Operations at CenterPoint Energy. "These companies now join with the other Alliance members in building a broad consensus for implementing these concepts." he went on to say.

The GridWise Alliance was founded in 2003. Over the past four years the Alliance has advocated for change on both the national and state levels. Its members include utilities, IT companies, equipment vendors and new technology providers.