GE exec sees smart grid becoming $3 billion business

Wed Apr 22, 2009 4:45pm BST

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - General Electric Co expects its smart grid electricity monitoring business to grow to represent $3 billion to $4 billion in annual revenue over the next three to four years, the head of its Energy Infrastructure unit said on Wednesday.

"It's going to be a lot like wind. It's going to take off quickly," John Krenicki, a vice chairman of the largest U.S. conglomerate and chief executive of the energy unit, told reporters before the company's annual meeting with shareholders.

Krenicki said the United States will likely be the most "meaningful" growth market for smart grid technology due to the Obama administration's stimulus plan, which includes spending on that area.

In smart grid systems, utility companies install more advanced electric meters in customers' homes, which allow customers to take advantage of lower-priced power at different times of day. The meters also communicate with the utility to prevent or minimize power outages.

GE makes the meters, as well as the systems utilities use to monitor them.

On Monday, GE, FPL Group and Cisco Systems said they were working together to roll out smart meters in Miami.