A City-Owned Utility in Tennessee Now Has Its Own Quantum Computer

EPB, the city-owned electric and internet utility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, switched on an IonQ Forte Enterprise quantum computer at its EPB Quantum Center on Sept. 18, 2026, installing it in the same building as the quantum network the utility has run since 2023.

EPB's announcement says the first users will be the EPB Quantum Computing Fellows, eight graduate researchers brought to Chattanooga from across the country, who will run algorithms they have been developing to optimize local power grid circuits. The stated goal is to lower costs and make the grid more resilient. The fellowship is funded by a $4 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Commercial service opens in early October. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is the first customer, beginning with research it is already prepared to run, and EPB said it is lining up a first project with Vanderbilt University.

"Access to a quantum computer is rare and valuable," said Janet Rehberg, CEO of EPB, who added that the utility is starting with its own work and prioritizing universities investing in quantum education and research in Chattanooga.

EPB says the center is the first place in the United States to offer commercial quantum computing and quantum networking in one facility.

EPB, IonQ, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and NVIDIA have also installed a conventional supercomputer at the center for a joint project that pairs the two kinds of machines on the same grid problems.