Boulder-based Summit Blue Consulting, which advises utilities on energy efficiency and smart-grid projects, was bought Monday for an undisclosed sum by Navigant Consulting.
Navigant is a consulting firm, with headquarters in Chicago, specializing in risk management and advising distressed companies. The company, which had $810 million in revenues in 2008, is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
“Navigant has a large energy practice,” David Kleinschmidt, a Navigant managing director, said by telephone. “In Summit Blue, we are getting a long-established performer in energy efficiency.”
Summit Blue specializes in resource planning, energy efficiency, demand response and renewable-energy consulting services for utilities, according to Kevin Cooney, Summit Blue’s chief executive.
Summit Blue’s 70 employees will bring Navigant’s energy practice to 250 people, Cooney said.
An emerging area that utilities are focusing on is the smart grid, a computerized electricity-distribution system that will enable utilities and their customers to communicate and better manage energy consumption, Cooney and Kleinschmidt said.
“We are still in the early stages of smart-grid exploring integration and feasibility,” Cooney said.
Summit Blue has helped design a smart-grid pilot for NSTAR Electric & Gas, Massachusetts’ largest investor-owned utility.
Mark Jaffe: 303-954-1912 or mjaffe@denverpost.com
