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Chattanooga's Quantum Leap: EPB Infrastructure Investments to Generate $10 Billion Economic Windfall

EPB Quantum Centre

A landmark economic impact study predicts that the Electric Power Board (EPB) of Chattanooga's innovative investments in its fibre optic network, smart electric grid, and emerging quantum technology initiatives will generate an astounding 1.1 billion.

According to UTC's peer-reviewed assessment, EPB's infrastructure is among America's greatest public assets. A decision over 10 years ago to build a smart, automated electric grid and a widespread fibre optic network is the cornerstone of this success story. After completing this infrastructure in 2011, Chattanooga became known as “Gig City” for its high-speed communication.

Since its 2010 launch, the initiative has produced $5.3 billion in demonstrable community benefits, substantially exceeding its budget. Dr. Bento Lobo, Ph.D., UTC's economic research leader, noted that the initiative had repaid more than six times the initial investment cost since 2011. Dr. Lobo called the automated grid and fibre optic connection “one of the community's most meaningful and impactful investments”.

Foundational Success: Jobs, Taxes, Reliability Employment, taxes, and dependability—the three pillars of success

EPB's projects affect Chattanooga's economy and government. The efforts directly contributed to 10,420 job creations between 2011 and 2024, or 31% of all jobs produced in the metropolitan area over that time.

While creating jobs, the company delivered Hamilton County and Chattanooga $84.06 million in payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) to public agencies and local schools, providing a consistent flow of funds for essential government operations.

The infrastructure has also helped businesses and residents daily. Smart grid automation enhanced dependability and saved customers around 417.7 million minutes of power outages. This reduces average outages by 59% annually. Customers avoided over $945 million in outage-related spoilage, productivity, and business interruption costs.

EPB remains the connection market leader because to its unmatched quality and pricing. The corporation has saved customers $334 million on fibre optic and electric services through price and efficiency initiatives.

EPB lowered gig speed internet from $69.99 to $67.99 per month in 2019 and free-upgraded 100 Mbps consumers to 300 Mbps. EPB continuously delivers the lowest pricing per megabit and the biggest bandwidth package in the region, up to 25 gigabits per second, over a symmetrical, 100% fibre optic network. Profits from EPB Fibre Optics help pay for electric system infrastructure, cutting energy bills for everyone.

Bridging Digital Divide

Importantly, EPB has worked to close the digital gap. All qualified students attending Hamilton County Schools are able to get free high-speed fibre optic internet through the utility’s HCS Ed Connect powered by EPB program. This public vow has connected over 28,000 kids and their families, enabling internet resources, remote learning, and social mobility for thousands of homes.

“EPB has been a dedicated partner in public education, broadening opportunities for Hamilton County students while driving billions of dollars in economic benefit for our community,” stated Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp. Their innovation, including line worker career ladders and new quantum prospects, is assuring the next generation can build a future in their country.

Investment in the Next $5 Billion Quantum Frontier EPB's economic research, which integrates fibre, electric, and quantum technology, will create 8,000 jobs between 2026 and 2035 and bring $5 billion to the region. The city's quantum initiatives alone might contribute $1.1 billion to that amazing amount. EPB's strategic initiatives to become a national leader in quantum information science support this projection.

In awareness of quantum computing and networking's transformative potential for material science, artificial intelligence, encryption, and secure communications, EPB has actively used its strong fibre infrastructure. EPB became the nation's first commercial quantum network in 2022 by announcing its implementation. An R&D 100 Award-winning quantum security effort with Oak Ridge and Los Alamos National Laboratories underpinned this achievement.

EPB launched the EPB Quantum CenterSM, the first US quantum technology centre to offer commercial quantum networking and quantum computing, to achieve its strategic goal. Chattanooga is creating a quantum ecosystem that will attract top talent and investment in one of the most significant technologies of the 21st century by giving researchers, entrepreneurs, and established enterprises direct access to this cutting-edge infrastructure.

EPB's fibre network fundamentally changed Chattanooga, and the city-owned utility continues to set us apart from other destinations, Mayor Tim Kelly stated. He admitted that EPB's innovation draws tech companies, remote workers, and researchers to Chattanooga. This trend will grow as quantum networks improve.

EPB Quantum Projects Hybrid Computing to Improve Power System

EPB Quantum's quantum development platform has expanded with hybrid computing capabilities from ORNL, NVIDIA, and IonQ. The Quantum World Congress declaration is a huge step towards making Chattanooga a quantum technology and advanced computing powerhouse.

The program will deploy an NVIDIA DGX computer at the EPB Quantum Centre, home to America's first commercial quantum network. This new technology will work with IonQ's Forte Enterprise Quantum Computer, anticipated to launch in early 2026. EPB Quantum aims to create a national resource for developing practical quantum applications by merging cutting-edge quantum technology and classical supercomputing.

Grid Modernization's New Frontier

The first initiative to harness hybrid resources will optimise the American electrical grid. EPB, ORNL, NVIDIA, and IonQ will study quantum-classical solutions to increase electrical distribution network reliability, efficiency, and capacity.

EPB's advanced automated energy grid will provide trillions of operational data points for the project. Since 2009, thousands of sensors over 15,000 km of fibre optic cable have collected data for this smart grid. The IonQ quantum computer and NVIDIA DGX system will allow ORNL researchers to analyse this massive dataset in new ways. Reducing electrical losses, voltage drops, and load balancing improves system capacity and dependability.

A major purpose of the effort is to develop methods, algorithms, and best practices for US energy systems. EPB’s 600-square-mile service territory in southeast Tennessee is a real-world test bed for national-scale technology.

Continuing Collaboration

With this project, EPB and national laboratories continue their productive partnership. EPB has worked with ORNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Qubitekk on the “QED: Quantum Ensured Defence of the Smart Electric Grid” project since 2016. This groundbreaking 2021 R&D 100 Award-winning project protected power grid signals with quantum networking. The QED project launched the EPB Quantum Network, the country's first commercial quantum network, and IonQ purchased Qubitekk.

EPB and ORNL have shown how world-class research and real-world energy infrastructure can expedite innovation, said ORNL director Stephen Streiffer. It builds on that success to promote the nation's energy future.

Promotion of Hybrid Supercomputing

The cooperating organisations' leaders stressed the project's relevance in applying quantum research. According to EPB CEO David Wade, “By making a comprehensive suite of quantum development resources accessible as a real-world platform for innovation, it makes it possible for entrepreneurs, industry leaders, national labs, and universities to work side by side towards breakthroughs

Partnership shows growing consensus that hybrid systems will solve complex problems. Niccolo de Masi, IonQ's chairman and CEO, said the company's mission is to produce 'practical applications with genuine economic value' by combining quantum technology with infrastructure and national and industrial lab knowledge.

Classical and quantum computing must be combined, as NVIDIA shows. Due to its data-intensive and machine learning capabilities, the hybrid model relies on the DGX system. NVIDIA Group Product Manager for quantum computing Sam Stanwyck predicts that hybrid supercomputing systems would use quantum and classical hardware for scientific computing. He said this project is “helping to build it” rather than just showing the future.