SRP applies for stimulus funds for smart projects
TEMPE, ARIZONA - Salt River Project has applied for more than $80 million in stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy for smart metering and smart electrical grid projects.
Officials with the Tempe-based utility say the extra money would not diminish the need for an 8.8 percent electric rate increase pending before SRP's board of directors, but it might reduce the size of future rate hikes.
SRP officials say the projects being sought for stimulus funding would give customers more options for controlling their energy use, improve reliability and promote clean energy.
Smart meters can send data via radio signals back to the utility, allowing the meter to be read automatically by a computer at an SRP control center.
SRP has already deployed more than 400,000 smart meters and wants to install another 540,000 by the fall of 2011, when every customer would have one.
Related News

Green energy could drive Covid-19 recovery with $100tn boost
LONDON - Renewable energy could power an economic recovery from Covid-19 by spurring global GDP gains of almost $100tn (£80tn) between now and 2050, according to a report.
The International Renewable Energy Agency found that accelerating investment in renewable energy could generate huge economic benefits while helping to tackle the global climate emergency.
The agency’s director general, Francesco La Camera, said the global crisis ignited by the coronavirus outbreak exposed “the deep vulnerabilities of the current system” and urged governments to invest in renewable energy to kickstart economic growth and help meet climate targets.
The agency’s landmark report found that accelerating investment in…