http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2009/tc20091027_594339.htm

Think back to the age of telecom before the breakup of AT&T, before the Internet, before Facebook or Twitter. That's about how antiquated America's system for delivering electricity—the electrical grid—is today. In many parts of the country, the grid is so "dumb" that workers still have to walk from house to house to read the electricity meter, and utilities have no clue when the lights go out until customers call to complain.  That's why there's a growing push to build a smarter grid, in which the meters can report in, appliances can control how much energy they use, and electricity stored in batteries can supply quick jolts of energy where needed, replacing the expensive power plants now used to meet peak power needs. One of the biggest believers in that vision is the White House. On Oct. 27, the Obama Administration announced 100 grants, totaling $3.4 billion, for smart-grid efforts, using money from the stimulus bill.