Smart-grid Standards an Issue in Economic Stimulus Bill

From USATODAY.com Tech - Top Stories:

Some of the nation's largest providers of electricity meters say the House's $819 billion economic stimulus bill could put them out of business and wreak havoc in the new market for "smart-grid" technology by favoring certain computer network standards. In a letter to U.S. senators, providers Itron, Landis+Gyr, Elster and Aclara say the measure "has caused confusion and delays with our utility clients for 2009 projects" that could be eligible for money from the stimulus package. The move also would pre-empt a group that's working on setting technology standards for the smart grid, the letter says. "This is going to bring a number of projects to a slowdown or a halt," says Ed Gray, vice president of regulatory affairs for smart-meter provider Elster. Bills in both the House and Senate set aside $4.5 billion for smart grids and smart meters. Basically, that means ushering the century-old power network into the digital age, so consumers can better manage their energy consumption to save money, and utilities can prevent outages. The original version of the House bill said utilities receiving funding must use Internet-based networking standards in their equipment. A more recent version tones that down, saying they must use "Internet-based or other open protocols and standards if available and appropriate." The Senate bill contains no such language.

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