EDC lends tech co. $500K to relocate to R.I.

By PBN Staff

PROVIDENCE - The state Economic Development Corporation approved a $500,000 loan to help a technology company relocate to Rhode Island.

Utilidata Inc., currently located in Spokane, Wash., will bring eight to 15 jobs to Rhode Island in 2012 with an average (expected) annual salary of about $91,000. The company’s technology optimizes the delivery of electricity by applying advanced signal processing through the electric grid, a new release said Tuesday.

The loan is provided through the Renewable Energy Fund and requires Utilidata to establish headquarters in Rhode Island.

Utilidata is relocating to Rhode Island “because of the area’s deep talent pool of the engineers and technicians that the company needs to further develop its product and grow the business, and the financing available through the [EDC’s] Renewable Energy Fund,” the news release added.

Utilidata’s lead investor and majority owner is venture capital firm Braemar Energy Ventures. It expects to create 47 full-time jobs in Rhode Island by the end of 2015. The new positions are expected to generate about $352,000 in state income taxes, the EDC said.

“Strategic co-investments in the development of new energy technologies and growing, cutting-edge businesses like Utilidata that create quality, high-paying jobs are key to building a dynamic and competitive business environment in Rhode Island,” said EDC Executive Director Keith W. Stokes.

“The Renewable Energy Fund is a great tool to help businesses grow, reduce their energy costs and to help Rhode Island attract companies looking to also tap into our hotbed of young talent and high concentration of world-class colleges, universities and R&D institutions.”