8.23.09 Smart Grids Can Give People Power to Cut Electric Bills

Inside a tiny office in a business park near West Virginia University, Allegheny Power is testing the power-control system of the future.

7.21.09 Is the Smart Grid Finally at the Tipping Point?

The Smart Grid has gotten plenty of hype and little action, but in the last few days there are serious signs that it may finally be at the tipping point.

What the smart grid needs most of all, of course, is money. Without it, the grid will languish, and IT won’t reap its benefits. Yesterday, the federal government gave the grid a big boost with more than $57 million in stimulus money. That’s a very big boost.

7.20.09 DOE Hands Out $47M for Smart Grid Demos

The Department of Energy has announced $47 million in grants to smart grid demonstration projects, part of a $3.9 billion pool of grants aimed at modernizing the electricity grid.

5.18.09 WSJ: Team Obama Announces New Standards, More Cash for Smart Grid

The Wall Street Journal blog announced that although major parts of President Obama’s energy package are still being debated, the smart grid got a big boost today from the Department of Energy.

4.30.2009 NPR: Power Hungry: Reinventing The U.S. Electric Grid

All this week NPR is featuring a series on different aspects of reinventing the country’s transmission infrastructure and turning our outdated lines into a smarter, more efficient grid. Be sure to check out the fourth part of the series which explains how coalition member PPL’s smart meters and informative website helped one Allentown resident save tremendous amounts of electricity and money.

*Member Op-ed* 4.23.09 Seif and Epstein: Much-needed Smart Grid will likely face hurdles in Pennsylvania

Today’s Patriot-News’ As I See It column, written by coalition member and former PA DEP secretary James Seif and environmental and energy consultant Joel Epstein, explains that the best way to fast-track the construction of a smart grid is to align Pennsylvania’s energy investments with federal stimulus funds and community aspirations.

Instead of a heavy-handed, preemptive approach to building the nation’s new grid, Seif and Epstein propose that a “Smart Grid Community Network” should be created. Composed of a wide array of public, private, and non-profit stakeholders, the network would encourage and guide communities’ involvement in the grid’s renewal.

4.17.09 WSJ: Obama Admin Unveils $4 Bln In Smart-Grid Power Tech Funding

On Thursday, the White House unveiled plans to allocate $4 billion in stimulus funds toward building a national smart grid, reports Dow Jones Newswires in the Wall Street Journal.

3.21.09 Washington Post: Climate Change ‘Big Priority’ For Energy Commission Chief

Jon Wellinghoff, the new chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, announces that his priorities include climate change. He believes this will be tackled best through a more efficient electric grid, including more big transmission lines and a smart grid with better abilility to coordinate fluctuations in wind and solar power with demand from households and other buildings.

3.17.09 Stateline.org: Smart Grid Growth Now Depends on States

Stateline.org agrees with an earlier article from smartgridnews.com that now that Congress has allocated billions in stimulus spending toward developing a “smart” grid, it will be up to the states to get consumers on board and figure out how to adjust rates to pay for the technology.

3.16.09 The Washington Times: Electricity Grid Gets Boost From Congress

Although Congress has pledged billions in the stimulus package for an overhaul of the nation’s powergrid, a dispute remains surrounding how much say the federal government should have in the process. Some groups want these grid decisions to be made solely by the states, while others say that a coordinated federal effort is needed for a timely and integrated renovation.