PPL proposes 'smart' grid pilot project
The Allentown, Pa.-based PPL said that the $38 million project would pilot the use of what it calls "smart" technology.
The testing would focus on electric service for 60,000 customers in the Harrisburg area. PPL is applying for $19 million in stimulus dollars.
Hundreds of new electrical devices would be installed and linked to a centralized computer system.
The technology could help appliances use less electricity and detect outages more quickly and isolate them by routing power around them until repairs are made.
PPL provides electric service to 1.4 million customers in eastern and central Pennsylvania.
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Renewable electricity powered California just shy of 100% for the first time in history
LOS ANGELES - Renewable electricity met just shy of 100% of California's demand for the first time on Saturday, officials said, much of it from large amounts of solar power produced along Interstate 10, an hour east of the Coachella Valley.
While partygoers celebrated in the blazing sunshine at the Stagecoach music festival, "at 2:50 (p.m.), we reached 99.87 % of load served by all renewables, which broke the previous record," said Anna Gonzales, spokeswoman for California Independent System Operator, a nonprofit that oversees the state's bulk electric power system and transmission lines. Solar power provided two-thirds of the amount needed.
Environmentalists…
