Evergy with Ericsson private LTE

As utilities modernize and expand automation, secure, private connectivity becomes essential to grid performance.

Evergy, a major electric utility serving 1.7 million customers across Kansas and Missouri, partnered with Ericsson to deploy a mission-critical private LTE network designed to reduce costs, strengthen operational control, and support long-term grid modernization goals.

By taking an infrastructure-first approach, Evergy established wide-area private LTE coverage before scaling connected devices, creating a foundation for predictive maintenance, security applications, and future grid innovation.

Like many utilities, Evergy faced rising operational costs while working to modernize the grid.

Existing communications created recurring per-device costs that limited the economic scalability of large-scale automation.

Critical operational data also traversed carrier networks, limiting the utility’s control over communications, security, and network performance.

To advance toward a more predictive operating model, Evergy needed a communications platform capable of connecting significantly more devices across its service territory while maintaining security, reliability, and cost efficiency.

Rather than deploying a limited pilot, Evergy chose to build broad private LTE coverage first and then accelerate device adoption across the network.

Ericsson worked with Evergy to deploy a private LTE network spanning 94 sites using 900 MHz and 2.5 GHz spectrum, supported by Ericsson-managed services for 24/7 monitoring, optimization, and maintenance.

The network was designed to support predictive maintenance, distribution automation, security systems, and other evolving utility use cases while giving Evergy greater control over operational data and communications infrastructure.

By deploying comprehensive private LTE coverage before scaling applications, Evergy changed the economics of grid connectivity and created a foundation for future growth.

The project demonstrates how utilities can reduce communications costs, improve operational visibility, strengthen security, and create a platform that evolves alongside emerging grid technologies.