Idaho utility eligible for federal smart grid funds

9-Nov-2009

Idaho Power Company is negotiating for $47 million in stimulus money that would subsidize the installation of smart grid technologies.

Of interest to Idaho Power's agricultural customers is the announcement that the funds will be used to control irrigation pumps' electrical use. At present, Idaho Power's Irrigation Peak Rewards Program credits irrigators who permit Idaho Power to turn off pumps during peak use hours.

The IPRP uses cell phones, internet technology, and timers to control irrigation pumps. But brand-new smart grid technology would take pump control into the modern era, enabling power company employees to mete out electricity more accurately and fairly at peak times.

Irrigation load control, as the new system is called, "will be an option the company will offer … based on the available automated metering infrastructure that can be utilized," in the words of Idaho Power agricultural segment coordinator Quentin Nesbitt.

In total, the federal government will grant over $3 billion for the development of a national smart grid. Those funds will be applied to projects like Idaho Power's - where electrical use will be more carefully controlled - and in upgrades to the transmission capacity of the national grid.

Breaking news brought to you by the Oxford Princeton Programme, specialists in energy courses. This and other related topics are part of the forthcoming course Fundamentals of Energy Futures on 22 February, 2010 in Houston.