August 18, 2009

Florida Power & Light asked for the top limit of DOE smart grid stimulus grant funds under the SGIG program -- $200 million, a spokesperson for the utility told us yesterday.  The figure is just for that utility while other subsidiaries of FPL Group such as its NextEra alternative energy venture, may apply separately, the spokesperson said.

          The total cost of the utility's smart grid project is estimated at $800 million and if approved, FPL plans to start using the stimulus funds for a portion of its smart grid rollout in January.

          The utility would fund the balance of the project through base rates from consumers.  FPL's base rate application was filed at the Florida PSC.  “We expect a decision on our rate application in January,” the spokesperson added.

          If for some reason DOE doesn't approve the plan for stimulus funds, FPL said it will still move forward with its planned smart grid project but just at a much slower pace.

          Applying for the grants required coordination among various departments as diverse as engineering, finance, legal, government relations, environmental, logistics and supply chain plus information technology, said the firm.  Included with the application were over 60 letters of support from elected officials, environmental groups and nonprofit organizations, the utility noted.

          About 400 firms and energy providers have submitted applications for the roughly $3.4 billion available through the smart grid grant program.  If FPL gets the full grant, it plans to deploy smart meters to let customers monitor their use hourly so they can estimate how much energy various appliances use.  FPL also is testing technology to, for example, let customers use a cell phone to turn off appliances when they aren't needed.

          The utility previously reported plans to install the smart meters throughout Miami-Dade under a project called “Energy Smart Miami” (SGT, Apr-21).

          If the grants come through, the program will expand to 2.6 million meters by 2011.  The utility plans to fund the smart meters in the remaining service territory by 2014, the spokesperson said.

          FPL sees the stimulus funds helping upgrade the electric network to better resist storms, run more cleanly and identify and fix problems more quickly.  The utility's stimulus application includes money for solar panels on some municipal and school buildings and for 300 plug-in hybrid cars, the spokesperson added.