Obama putting $3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid

Obama putting $3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid

news.yahoo.com

President Barack Obama made a pitch for renewable energy Tuesday, announcing $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the nation's power grid.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I'm sure you all have heard all of the doom and gloom stories for 2012...Well, One of the prophecies involves a huge solar flare wiping out the power grid which could take months possibly years to fix- creating complete and utter chaos.

I decided to post this because it definitely relates to that idea. I, personally, don't believe that will happen. But that there will be a definite shift in consciousness...I guess we'll find out soon!

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by berrygurrl


Well I won't talk about the 2012 thing, but I watched his speech this morning when he was announcing this plan, and frankly I think it's a step in the right direction.

Green energy, creating American jobs that can't be outsourced as he said. The power grid is in need of reform and smart meters are a good way of doing that.

It'll provide much needed help during natural disasters in fixing the most affected areas and will also help give better consumer reports on how much energy we are using per household and little things we can do to make the power usage less.

One point for Obama as far as I am concerned..

~keeper

Putting in a new smart power grid is essential if we are to compete in the world. Every major western nation has been incrementally upgrading their grids to save energy and have more up time.

Our system is a dilapidated joke.

Not to mention the job creation. Good for workers, better for America.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


I definitely agree with you!

It's about time Obama makes a positive change in this country that is actually beneficial to not only our country but the planet.

I always wonder what the real meaning behind his "changes" to this country are as I can never trust the government in what they say. Hey who knows, maybe Obama will finally redeem himself!

reply to post by berrygurrl


I think people will always have this stigma with the POTUS. Even if Ron Paul got elected there would be some who would scream puppet and socialist and whatever else they can find to smear the name.

The man's got a tought job, and yes there are thing he does which we don't approve but he will in the end do positive things. George did it and so did every other President before him.

We just tend to focus on the bad instead of the good.

~Keeper

So let me get this right...

You guys are celebrating the fact that the gov't will be able to track every ounce of energy you use and tax you on excessive energy use. I'm not against conservation I'm against the gov't having more power. Let the markets drive the change not the gov't. It always leads to the same spot, the gov't over-reaching into the personal lives of americans. Anything with the word "smart" in it can be replaced by Big Brother.

reply to post by peponastick


It has nothing to do with them over charging you, the utilities companies do that anyway.

Utilities are still privately owned and they bill you, the government is giving THEM money so they can modernize the system.

They aren't controlling or attempting to control anything, he's making an investment for the future.

~Keeper

Hmm unlucky folks...Looks like you may get the same as what they have planned for the UK,with smart electric meters and council dicks poking about your house to make sure you don't waste a "drop" of energy.

Every home in the UK must be fitted with a "smart meter" by 2020 to reduce energy use and pave the way for a low-carbon "smart grid", under plans unveiled by the government today. The new meters will send information on real-time electricity and gas use in households and small businesses direct to utility companies, eliminating the need for customers to stay at home for meter readings or to receive over-estimated bills. However, consumers are likely to pick up some of the costs of the compulsory, nationwide scheme. The government estimates putting smart meters in the country's 26m homes could save customers and energy companies £2.5bn-£3.6bn over the next 20 years, but says it will cost more than double this to buy and install the equipment.

www.guardian.co.uk...

See how they make it seem like a convienience-you don't have people coming to read you meters...
Hmmm,Knowing the surveillance hungry maniacs who run the show now they will also use it to database peoples movements and behaviour about their own house..
They will be able to see if and when your TV is on for example,or see if your bathroom light gets turned on at whatever time.Etc.
I expect they will eventually link the information to your bank account,so that when they really want to turn the screw,they will be able to debit your account if you boil the kettle once to often.

This is just another part of the matrix they have planned for everyone.
Potentially paranoid rant over.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Well, It's not that we are focusing on the bad, but unfortunately the "bad" out weigh the good on some of the major decisions obama has made.

Deep down I believe that everyone is "good", presidents as well.

Hopefully this whole upgraded power grid idea, will eventually lead to free energy which would drastically change this world for the greater good.

Also, as president, Obama has a lot of cleaning up to do and powerful decisions to make in order to clean up the messes our past leaders have created.

I'm all for change as long as that's not what is left in my pockets.

I thought I read somewhere that it would cost trillions of dollars for the US to be completely updated to this smart grid technology. If that's the case, doesn't that make a $3B pledge just a drop in the bucket? Can anyone clarify the total cost of implementing this smart grid all across the US?

Originally posted by peponastick
So let me get this right...

You guys are celebrating the fact that the gov't will be able to track every ounce of energy you use and tax you on excessive energy use. I'm not against conservation I'm against the gov't having more power. Let the markets drive the change not the gov't. It always leads to the same spot, the gov't over-reaching into the personal lives of americans. Anything with the word "smart" in it can be replaced by Big Brother.

Yea let's give the markets another 100 years to do something about the power grid in our country!!! yea!!! Freeeeeeedddddoooooommmmm!!!!

Do you even listen to yourself? For decades power companies have ignored making instrumental upgrades to the grid because holy cow...IT TAKES AWAY FROM PROFITS.

Now the Government (you and I) have to pay to make sure it gets done.

The "market" is not the end all be all answers for our countries problems.

Good God Man have you been completely asleep these last 10 years when Wall Street policed itself into ruin.

And like everything in our nation we the tax payer will pay for the 3.4B and after the upgrade is done the government will come around and sell it to foreign investors as everything that has to do with the infrastructure of this country, they foreign companies get 100% profits and we the tax payers get the bills

Don't you love our government.

Originally posted by marg6043
And like everything in our nation we the tax payer will pay for the 3.4B and after the upgrade is done the government will come around and sell it to foreign investors as everything that has to do with the infrastructure of this country, they foreign companies get 100% profits and we the tax payers get the bills

Don't you love our government.

Absolutley correct.Not only that,you are paying for the privelige of letting the state have more intrusion and control over aspects of your everyday life,in this case your "energy consumption habits."

Isn't it great?

Ooooh,please charge me for spying on everything I do!!

Has anyone seen the latest Alex Jones film-Fall of the republic?
The last section covers Al Gore and his ultra athoritarian yet personally lucrative take on climate change.
It paints a very dark picture of what TPTB are trying,full steam,to do to the populace under the guise of "Green" policys.
And guess what,Its yet another total con job by the Elite to make crazy amounts of money,whilst enlarging the gap between the haves and have nots...

Can anyone see a pattern here?

The switch gear and substations along with the way the grid is laid out and tapped has been pieced together and added onto since electrical distributions beginnings. This is why, when there's a substation outage caused by a transformer fault, grounding,switchgear hang and resulting explosion of equipment, that huge areas lose power and we have brown and in some cases blackouts.
The system is a mess. It has no logical continuity.
The equipment is old, and yes, profits have ruled rather than reinvestment into the property.
IF the focus is put on distribution repair, from generation to transmission lines then I say good.
IF the focus is on local metering and monitoring then its just a ruse and will do nothing to better the overall state of our electrical system.

It will only be, in plain english, another assault on your money and your choices.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
One point for Obama as far as I am concerned..

This is exciting news. This is another thing that he was hired for. Way to go Obama!

Keeper, I'm really liking your posts. Keep up the good work!

Alright, several here have a partial clue of what is going on, the rest of you have no clue. Let me tell you how are electrical system is built in California.

Whenever a new project goes up, for example, the last commercial site I built was a 12 building 10 acre site. First, out of the Architects hands, into the Engineers, then the City Planning commision, back to the Architect and Engineer for red line markups(corrections the city, fire dept., etc. want done). Now back to the city again, one last check. Now it goes to PGE for the electrical and gas design. Now all of these items are paid for out of the developers pockets. The telephone and cable is designed by the respective companies that want to supply those to the project-this design is paid for by those companies.

Here is the outrageous part. Who do you think pays for all of the transformer, splice boxes, switch boxes, capacitor banks, main panels, meter panels, power conduits, cable conduits, telephone conduits, and all of the cable for the entire project? You got it, the developer. The developer gets the privelage of paying for all of this and do they get to keep ownership of it? No, it goes to each respective company and now the developer paid all of the costs and these companies now received all of this for FREE. Now they get to profit off of someone elses investment.

Now Obama and you(people that have no fracking idea why property values were skyrocketing) are cheering on these imbeciles. Now that property values have plummeted and put most of the developers out of business, the government and these utility companies are looking for another sucker to give them money for the privilege of making them money.

Maybe people should investigate before cheering on our dear leader.

You do know, that when Cap and Trade passes, AND IT WILL, all of the country has to follow Californias construction standards.

Wake up and smell the Corporate/Fascist Oligarchy. And quit sticking both feet in your mouth before speaking, it is kind of rude.

reply to post by endisnighe

op by endisnighe
You do know, that when Cap and Trade passes, AND IT WILL, all of the country has to follow Californias construction standards.

Does that include having to install those meters with which the government can control your heating temperature remotley,like in California?

California utilities would control the temperature of new homes and commercial buildings in emergencies with a radio-controlled thermostat, under a proposed state update to building energy efficiency standards. Customers could not override the thermostats during "emergency events," according to the proposal, part of a 236-page revision to building standards. The document is scheduled to be considered by the California Energy Commission, a state agency, on Jan. 30. The description does not provide any exception for health or safety concerns. It also does not define what are "emergency events."

www.ucan.org...

Sounds reasonable....barf!

reply to post by Silcone Synapse


I believe that is what the smart grid is for. If you are not a part of the body politic or the other elite, everything will be controlled for you. No need to worry about your heat during the winter, it will be set at a balmy 62 degrees. Summertime 82 degrees. Soon, they will have gas ration stamps for the peasants.

reply to post by endisnighe


Yeah, here in Ga already my electric company told us that new meters will be coming to our homes very soon, this ones will not require an individual coming into the property to read them, the new ones will be read by a computer.

Interesting, how I will know that I have not been gouge by the computer readings.