SMUD rolls out a smart electrical grid

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District is set to roll out a smart grid.

By Jim Downing , Sacramento Bee June 15, 2009

According to a story in the Sacramento Bee ,

this week, the Sacramento

Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is

set to take its first step toward what promises to be the most significant

development in electricity in a century: the “smart” grid.

Thursday, the SMUD

board is scheduled to approve a 30-month rollout of 620,000 meters for the Internet age. Instead of

today’s “dumb” odometer-style counters, the devices will be brainy

hubs in a new electrical nervous system that promises to save money and power

and foster the next tech

boom.

The big change: Smart meters can talk.

At first, the discussion will stay mostly between the meter and SMUD. A home’s power usage

will be beamed straight to the utility, eliminating the meter-reader’s monthly

visit. If your power goes out, the meter will tell SMUD instantly (now, the utility usually learns of

outages when customers call).

Read the full story.