Secretary Chu participates in an event at the White House on "Building the 21st Century Grid." At the event, the Administration announces a number of new public- and private-sector initiatives designed to accelerate the modernization of the Nation's electric infrastructure, bolster electric-grid innovation, and advance a clean energy economy, in part by taking greater advantage of digital and communications or "smart grid" technologies. The White House releases a report by the Cabinet-level National Science and Technology Council, "A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid," which charts a collaborative path forward for applying smart grid technologies to the Nation's electricity infrastructure to facilitate the integration of renewable sources of power into the grid; help accommodate the growing number of electric vehicles; help avoid blackouts and restore power quicker when outages occur; and reduce the need for new power plants. The White House also releases a fact sheet. Secretary Chu announces that more than five million smart meters have been installed nationwide as part of Recovery Act-funded efforts to accelerate modernization of the Nation's electric grid. The Secretary also posts an article on the Energy Blog.
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