CenterPoint Energy is applying for $200 million in federal funding for Smart Grid !!!

CenterPoint seeking funds for grid update
By TOM FOWLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 3, 2009, 11:56PM

CenterPoint Energy is applying for $200 million in federal funding to speed up deployment of new grid technology, including the smart meters for which Houston-area customers are paying $3.24 per month.
The funds requested from the U.S. Department of Energy would take two years off what now is planned as a five-year effort to install smart meters on 2.2 million area homes and businesses, according to the company. It also would go toward the installation of equipment to help automate the rerouting of power throughout the area's electricity distribution system during outages.
The capital costs for the smart meter project will be about $640 million, but with financing customers are expected to pay about $976 million in fees. CenterPoint spokeswoman Alicia Dixon said it's still not known how much the stimulus funds would cut total customer costs.
Smart meters can be monitored and controlled remotely and will be able to communicate with a new generation of in-home devices that give customers more information about their power usage and costs.
The meters also will let retail electric companies offer pricing plans that more accurately reflect the higher cost of power generation during peak afternoon hours. As envisioned, the plans would reward customers for shifting their usage to off-peak times, helping to avoid strains on the generation and transmission system and tempering the need for new power plants.
So far CenterPoint has installed 45,000 smart meters in the Houston area.
The Dallas-area electric grid operator, Oncor, is also applying for $200 million to speed along smart grid installation, and another $117 million for other related equipment.
The funds come from the Department of Energy's portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. About $4.5 billion, or 12 percent of the Energy Department's $38.7 billion share of stimulus money, is dedicated to smart grid and electric transmission projects. Of the rest, $16.8 billion is dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs; $6 billion each to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and the clean-up of old nuclear waste sites; $3.4 billion for carbon capture and storage projects; and $2 billion for research projects.