Utilities seek energy stimulus grants

From an article by Tom Content in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Power companies in eastern Wisconsin are seeking up to $63.5 million through the federal stimulus package for "smart grid" projects that would add charging stations for plug-in hybrid vehicles and finance development of high-tech gadgets that would let consumers track their home energy use in real time.

Utilities including We Energies of Milwaukee are also looking to tap funding from the Department of Energy for projects like "self-healing" power grid technologies that would allow electric service to be restored more quickly after power outages.

Madison-based Wisconsin Power & Light Co., which seeks $10 million in smart grid grants, is rolling out a pilot program to study how customers will adjust their energy-consuming behavior if they have more detailed information in real time about how much energy their homes are consuming.

WP&L is considering setting up programmable thermostats that could be adjusted automatically up or down by the utility in certain cases, as well as Internet portals that let customers track their energy use, said company spokesman Steve Schultz.

"We believe this pilot program is going to really provide insight to the customer and let them really see what their real-time energy usage is and raise their awareness in terms of how their energy consumption behavior impacts their energy costs," he said.

Utilities are seeking taxpayer funding for up to 50% of the cost of projects to investigate emerging "smart-grid" technologies. Nationwide, more than $4 billion in funding has been made available for so-called "smart grid" projects. The Department of Energy is expected to announce which projects get funded by the end of the year. . . .

"Smart grid" grants that utilities are seeking from the Department of Energy:

$21.75 million for American Transmission Co., Pewaukee
$18 million for Wisconsin Public Service Corp., Green Bay
$10 million for Wisconsin Power & Light Co., Madison
$5.5 million for Madison Gas & Electric Co., Madison
$4.5 million for WPPI Energy, Sun Prairie
$3.5 million for We Energies, Milwaukee