Minneapolis-based Xcel, Colorado's largest electric utility, has installed about 14,000 "smart" meters that provide information to the utility and to customers. Xcel and its contractors have strung more than 100 miles of cable over power lines for broadband transmission and hooked up a handful of homes to program and monitor energy use.
Full build-out is expected by June, and most of the city's 45,000 meters will be capable of two-way communication and Internet access so customers can actively control how and when they use energy.
Other partners in the project include the city of Boulder, the University of Colorado, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Renewable Laboratory.
Xcel expects to cover at least 15 percent of the project's cost with its partners providing the rest in funding or in-kind services.
Austin is also pioneering a smart electric grid initiative called the Pecan Street Project. Previously, congressional aids talked about spending $10 billion over two years on smart grid technology.
