Midlands utilities get grants to modernize energy grid

Two utilities in northeast Nebraska and 75 in Iowa received part of $3.4 billion in federal grants Tuesday to modernize the nation’s energy grid.

The money will be used to install smart meters and other technology designed to cut costs and improve reliability.

“It’s exciting for us,” said Elwood Moore, general manager of the Cuming County Public Power District in West Point, Neb. “We think it’s a real benefit to our customers.”

President Barack Obama announced the grants at Florida Power & Light Co.’s solar power generating facility in Arcadia, Fla. They are part of the $787 billion economic stimulus plan Congress passed earlier this year.

One hundred grants, ranging from $400,000 to $200 million, were awarded to private companies, utilities, manufacturers and cities. The administration expects the funds to create jobs, strengthen the nation’s power grids and save energy.

Moore said his power district will receive nearly $1.9 million for a $3.7 million joint project with neighboring Stanton County Public Power District.

The power districts will install communications equipment and software to carry data collected by “smart” electric meters in homes and businesses, as well as devices that can monitor and control electricity flow among substations.

The data systems will help the utilities isolate problems and reroute power when necessary, Moore said.

The meters will help customers cut back on electricity use at peak times, reducing strain on electric systems and potentially saving money, Moore said.

The two public power districts together serve about 6,700 customers, making them among the smaller districts in the state, Moore said.

They prepared plans for their systems before Congress passed the stimulus package, and having “shovel-ready” projects might have helped in the grant process, he said. The federal money means customers won’t pay as much for the projects, Moore said.

Stanton County also received $397,000 in federal money for a $794,000 project to install an additional 2,400 smart meters, along with the necessary computer software, hardware and data collection systems.

In Iowa, 75 consumer-owned utilities serving 96,000 customers in three states received $5 million of a $12.5 million project to implement a load control and dynamic pricing program, the U.S. Department of Energy said.

The Obama administration said the grants represented the largest single energy grid modernization investment in history.