TXU Electric Delivery and CURRENT Communications Group, LLC have entered into an agreement to transform TXU Electric Delivery's power distribution network into the United States' first broadband-enabled Smart Grid.

CURRENT will design, build and operate the BPL network covering the majority of the TXU Electric Delivery service area, including approximately 2 million homes and businesses in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and other Texas communities. This modernized grid will enhance TXU Electric Delivery's ability to deliver top-decile electric service reliability and provide the potential for additional products and services from retail electric providers that will enable businesses and consumers to manage their electricity usage and costs.

Overlaid on the existing electric distribution network, the CURRENT BPL network solution incorporates advanced digital communication and computing capabilities that provide real-time monitoring through the electric distribution network, enabling TXU Electric Delivery to: increase network reliability and power quality; prevent, detect and restore customer outages more effectively; and implement automated meter reading more efficiently.

Additionally, CURRENT will leverage the same BPL network to provide homes and businesses high-performance broadband and wireless services, including the “triple play” of voice, video and high-speed Internet access delivered over existing electrical lines by simply plugging into any home outlet.

Under the terms of the agreement with CURRENT, TXU Electric Delivery will procure services over 10 years for approximately $150 million to use the Smart Grid capabilities of CURRENT's BPL network.