Sens. Levin, Stabenow Praise More Than $103 Million in Smart Grid Grants for Michigan

October 27, 2009 -- WASHINGTON — Two Michigan companies will receive grants totaling $103,158,878 for projects designed to ease the nation’s transition to a smarter electrical system, U.S. Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow, both D-Mich., announced today. The Detroit Edison Company will receive $83,828,878 and the Whirlpool Corporation in Benton Harbor will receive $19,330,000. The funds were made available by the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

“These grants mark a major investment not only in the smart grid, which will benefit all Americans, but in Michigan’s manufacturing sector, which will lead to new jobs and economic revitalization,” Levin said. “Just as Michigan was an industrial leader in the 20th century, it will lead in green energy manufacturing in the 21st.”

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“Today’s announcement is part of the largest single modernization investment in U.S. history, and Michigan has the opportunity to build on its leadership in this new clean-energy economy. This is a significant investment that will help improve energy efficiency throughout the state,” said Stabenow. “Most importantly, this creates new jobs. In addition, the investment will be used to provide training for new clean energy technologies, and will empower consumers to save energy and money on utility bills.”

Funds for the Detroit Edison Company will go to its SmartCurrents program, which includes the deployment of a large-scale network of 660,000 smart electricity meters and will implement the Smart Home program, which will provide customer benefits such as dynamic pricing to 5,000 customers and smart appliances to 300 customers.

Funds for the Whirlpool Corporation will support the manufacturing of smart appliances to accelerate the commercialization of residential appliances capable of communicating over a home network with other smart technologies. These appliances will allow customers to defer or schedule their energy use, which can lower consumer costs and reduce peak electricity demand.

The grants announced today are part of the largest single smart grid modernization in U.S. history, designed to ease the nation’s transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system. Through a range of projects and system upgrades, the end result will promote energy-saving choices for consumers, increase efficiency and foster the growth of renewable energy sources. An analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute estimates that the implementation of smart grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than four percent by 2030. That would mean a savings of $20.4 billion for businesses and consumers around the country. For more information on the smart grid, please visit www.oe.energy.gov/smartgrid.htm.

Source: Senator Carl Levin