Through a strategic alliance and an acquisition on successive days last week, Cisco Systems, San Jose, Calif., further staked out its position in the pack of companies pushing to develop the market for intelligent control of electric power grids. At the same time, the company's move improves the likelihood that utilities can avoid being locked into proprietary communication protocols and will be able to make disparate networks work together — potentially creating a solution to one of the thornier problems in rolling out smart grid technologies.

Cisco has said it expects the smart grid to grow to a $100 billion market and began developing its smart-grid offerings last year.

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