DOE announces money for smart grid training

Smart Grid Workforce Training will skill 30,000 Americans in electrical grid modernization, smart meters, phasor sensors, advanced communications, cybersecurity, and operations, funded by colleges, utilities, manufacturers, and Recovery Act initiatives.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced that the Department of Energy is announcing award selections for nearly $100 million for 54 smart grid workforce training programs that will help prepare the next generation of workers in the utility and electrical manufacturing industries.

These projects will leverage more than $95 million in funding from community colleges, universities, utilities and manufacturers to develop and implement training programs. The selectees estimate that the programs will train approximately 30,000 Americans. These workers will help to modernize the nation’s electrical grid and implement smart grid technologies in communities across the country.

Secretary Chu made the announcement while visiting a Pepco engineering and service center in Rockville, Maryland that is receiving $4.4 million in funding that the company estimates will train 700 new and existing employees. This funding is the latest investment by the Obama Administration to develop the smart grid and builds on the more than $4 billion in Recovery Act funding for smart grid deployment and demonstration projects nationally.

“Building and operating smart grid infrastructure will put tens of thousands of Americans to work,” said Secretary Chu. “Todays investment will help ensure that we have the workforce in place to meet this need. This is a great opportunity for workers to upgrade their skills and earn more, or for laid off workers from other industries to start fresh in a new and growing field.”

The programs will focus on training activities that support electricians, line workers, technicians, system operators, power system engineers, cyber security specialists and transmission planners. The selections include support to develop and deploy training programs broadly as well as to conduct actual personnel training for current and future employees. Workers will receive training on the transmission and distribution systems as well as new intelligent grid systems, such as smart meters, phasor measurement sensors and advanced communication networks.

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