LOS ANGELES - Privately held smart grid networking company Silver Spring Networks said on Tuesday that it would buy Greenbox Technology, adding energy-management software to its arsenal.

The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Silver Spring Networks provides hardware, software and services that allow power utilities to run smart grids. The company has contracts with power utilities that serve 25 percent of the U.S. population.

Greenbox's energy management web portal is designed to help consumers track, understand and manage their energy use more efficiently.

We are working with utilities to build the platform for a smarter grid, said Judy Lin, Silver Spring's chief product officer, in a statement. This acquisition allows Silver Spring to provide another critical application: a smart and intuitive energy-management portal.

Utility companies around the world are working to upgrade their network with smart grid technology, which measures and modifies power usage in homes and businesses and improves grid reliability.

Experts believe the smart grid network will bring new efficiencies out of power lines and open the door to using more energy from renewable sources.

Start-up Silver Spring Networks, based in Redwood City, California, has raised about $170 million and has attracted investments from technology heavyweights such as Google Inc. (Reporting by Laura Isensee, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)

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