Smart grid gets island test in Maui resort area

By MARK NIESSE (AP) – 1 hour ago

HONOLULU — A 4-square-mile patch of Maui in the nation's most fossil-fuel dependent state soon will be home to a new kind of power grid, one that saves energy by turning off household appliances when electricity is expensive and makes better use of wind and solar power.

General Electric Co. recently announced it would test its "smart grid" technology in the luxury resort community of Wailea, hoping to reduce peak electricity consumption there by 15 percent by 2012.

Planners envision installing a new kind of power meter in homes — a wall-based unit that can monitor how much electricity is being used by various appliances and turn them off when it's most expensive. The project also would upgrade the utility's computer systems so that it can integrate more renewable energy.

There are about 70 smart grid pilots nationwide, including Miami, Seattle, Houston and Boulder, Colo. But Wailea is one of the only resort communities where the test is being conducted.

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