Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

EPB’s fiber optic network and automated electric grid have generated $5.3 billion in community benefit since their launch in 2010, according to a peer-reviewed economic impact study conducted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC).

The study, which is available at this link, was conducted by Bento Lobo, Ph.D., who heads the Department of Finance and Economics at the UTC Rollins College of Business.

“EPB’s investments in a ubiquitous fiber optic system and the nation’s most advanced automated grid can be noted as one of our community’s most meaningful and impactful investments,” he said. “Since the project was fully completed in 2011, it has returned more than six times the original cost of the investment.”

Key findings include:

1. Supported the creation of 10,420 jobs from 2011-2024, representing 31 percent of all jobs in the area created during the same time.
2. Generated $84.06 million for local schools and public services in the form of payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) payments to Hamilton County, the City of Chattanooga, and other local governments.
3. Bridged the digital divide with HCS EdConnect powered by EPB, which provides high-speed, fiber optic internet at no charge to all students in need who attend Hamilton County Schools.
4. Prevented more than 417.7 million minutes of power outages for customers. This reflects an annual average outage reduction of about 59 percent.

Going forward for the next decade, the study also projects EPB’s fiber optic, electric, and quantum technology initiatives will generate an estimated $5 billion in additional community benefit and support the creation of an estimated 8,000 new jobs between 2026 and 2035. Of that, EPB’s quantum initiatives are expected to represent up to $1.1 billion of that benefit.

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