FORT COLLINS, Colo.—Fort Collins and other northern Colorado cities and Pueblo will receive a total of $24.2 million in federal grants for projects to modernize the electrical grid.
The grants are part of $3.4 billion in funding announced Tuesday by President Barack Obama to move toward a “smart grid.”
The idea behind a smart electrical grid is to provide a flexible system with better communication between the utility and consumers, improving the flow and use of electricity.
Fort Collins, Loveland and Longmont in northern Colorado and Fountain, in southern Colorado, together received $18.1 million. Pueblo received $6.1 million.
The U.S. Treasury Department also announced that the Platte River Power Authority will get $3.6 million for a hydropower project in Longmont.
Fort Collins will use the grant to install “smart meters” in every home in the city. That will enable the city to provide immediate data on electricity use to customers.
The grant will also finance automated switches for the electrical grid.
The new technology will enhance FortZED, Fort Collins’ downtown “zero energy district,” by allowing the city to more effectively monitor energy use there.
Fort Collins applied for the grant with Loveland, Longmont and Fountain, with Fort Collins acting as the grant administrator, Mayor Doug Hutchinson said.
Pueblo will use its grant for 42,000 smart meters and infrastructure.
“Installing smart meters is just the first step,” said Gary Stone, vice president of operations for Black Hills Energy/Colorado Electric Utility Co. in Pueblo told The Denver Post. “This is the foundation on which a lot of new technology can be built.”
Colorado is home to what is believed to be the first city to plug into the smart grid. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy has completed work on the infrastructure in Boulder and launched the remaining software in September to expand the number of homes participating.
The utility has strung 200 miles of fiber-optic cable, enabling about 46,000 homes and businesses to use the technology.
Xcel Energy Tom Henley said the utility has installed nearly 17,000 smart meters and plans to install another 6,000 in the Boulder area.
