Some of these generators, such as big coal-fired plants and nuclear power stations, produce electricity at a steady rate, day in and day out. At its base are generating plants, ranging from windmills to nuclear reactors. The nation’s electrical system is an extremely complex network. These potential changes deserve a thorough airing before the United States commits to such large investments in the name of smartness. But these changes have the potential to saddle them with unnecessarily high prices, force them to bear unnecessary risks, and make their local utility company an uninvited participant in the intimate details of their everyday lives. The potential savings will justify the cost only if the smart grid brings sweeping changes in the way consumers use and pay for electricity. The cost will be high: Although the economic stimulus program approved by Congress last year included $4.5 billion to help create the smart grid, the full build-out will cost at least a couple of hundred billion dollars more. Unfortunately, it is far from the unalloyed plus portrayed to the public. The smart grid has the potential to bring the United States a more stable, economical, and environmentally friendly electrical system. Propelled by promises of greater energy efficiency and reduced greenhouse gas emissions, the smart grid is on a roll. So have members of Congress from both parties and state utility regulators all over the country. electrical system came up with the name “smart grid.” The Obama administration has signed on. That presumably is why the proponents of some radical changes in the design of the U.S. It is hard to quarrel with the idea that it is good to be smart.
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