Energy Department to award $3.3B for smart power grids - Business First of Louisville:

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billion in federal stimulus grants, of up to $200 millio n apiece, to companies and utilities to help developoa smarter, faster power grid. The firstf round of applications are dueJuly 29, with future rounds in December 2009 and March 2010 if funding But DOE’s plans for this stimulus funding hikes the maximum amount of individual grants from the previously proposed $20 million, a cap that many potential applicantsa said would not be enough to fund real changde toward a smart grid -- often described as a new automated networo that could measure the amounts and peak timexs of a homeowner’s or actual electricity consumption, detect outages and problems and electronically notify utilities, and perhaps even store powerr during off-peak hours to be used durinhg times of higher demand.
In all, the federal governmentf had setaside $4.5 billionn in stimulus funds to help fashiom a nationwide smart grid. The , which received $220 milliohn of its own stimuluas funds towardthis effort, hopesd to debut new national standards for smart grid products and technologiesz by the end of this year. Officials with Louisville-based believre smart grid technology will playa . The divisionm of Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric Co. (NYSE; GE), has investedd millions of dollars in the development of a new line of appliance integrated with smartgrid technology. It also is workingt with utility companies across the United States to develop smargrid programs.