Sixnet, a major player of machine-to-machine, or M2M, connectivity solutions for industrial and commercial markets, has added five new partners to its U.S. channel partner program.

These new partners have specific expertise and industry knowledge of the power and energy market, and will customize solutions for customers based on Sixnet's connectivity solutions.

Officials with Sixnet said that the new partners include- Avcom, D'Ewart, Equal Electric, Wrathall and Krusi and Young Power.

Avcom provides a wide range of products for utility customers in New England. The company is a member of the Electrical Equipment Representatives Association (EERA) and the Northeast Public Power Association (NEPPA).

D'Ewart is a manufacturer's representative that supplies communications and automation control solutions to power and municipal utilities in Idaho, Montana and western Wyoming.

Equal Electric has worked with the Colorado and eastern Wyoming utilities markets for more than 25 years. The company offers product lines from Siemens (News - Alert) Energy and Morgan Shaffer to complement Sixnet solutions for utility customers.

Wrathall and Krusi focuses on power generation, transmission and distribution for customers in northern California and Nevada, with complementary product lines from Areva and Hyundai transformers.

Young Power has been serving Arizona and New Mexico utilities since 1948 and offers complementary product lines from RFL, Basler, Travis and Alcad.

"The broad range of economical and ruggedized Ethernet switches and wireless modems from Sixnet enables utilities to justify even more applications for substation and distribution automation to expand their Smart Grid initiatives," said Dave Osvog, president of Equal Electric, Inc., in a statement.

Company officials said that Sixnet offers solutions certified for use in power and energy environments.

Recently, Sixnet earned KEMA approval for its EL228 industrial Ethernet switch platform. KEMA tests products to ensure that they meet stringent environmental and redundancy standards specific to the power and energy industry, including IEC61850 and IEEE1613.

"Power and energy is a complex and specialized market that requires both a high level of industry knowledge and the right solutions to meet customer needs," said Michael Oliveri, vice president of sales, North America at Sixnet.

"As projects like the Smart Grid continue to expand, we realize the importance of complementing Sixnet's industry-certified connectivity products with dedicated partners that are experts in the power and energy field," said Oliveri.