Bush Signs US Energy Bill into law Wednesday (Dec. 19, 2007)

This US energy bill enacts as well the creation of a smart grid and demand response network as an US policy. Among the many provisions of the new act are: a "National Action Plan" for Demand Response; a national commitment to "smart grid" technologies, (creates a smart grid task force to report on the development of this policy within the year, establishes a smart grid advisory panel to the development of new smart grid technologies, and authorizes $100 million to support smart grid technology research and development); a requirement that every state ensure that it promotes energy efficiency by providing the proper economic rewards and by removing regulatory and management disincentives (commonly known in the trade as "decoupling"); a requirement that every state consider offering demand response programs to reduce peak electricity consumption, etc. (See a previous post in this blog about this issue: US Legislation on Smart Grids )