The SmartCurrents program includes three major projects in the DTE Energy southeastern Michigan service territory:

1. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), including the installation of more than 600,000 advanced electric meters by 2012.
2. Smart Circuit which includes 55 circuit upgrades covering 11 substations. This work will be completed in 2012.
3. Smart Home Pilot Program will incorporate new technologies and products, such as smart appliances, programmable communicating thermostats (PCT) and in-home displays (IHD) so pilot customers can monitor their energy usage.  In addition, pilot customers will be offered different pricing levels to incentivize off-peak electrical usage.  A web portal for energy analysis also will be introduced. Participation in the smart home pilot will be limited to customers that have advanced meters installed with the next year.  The customer participants will be randomly selected.

A smarter grid uses technology and tools to bring knowledge to power – think of it as the internet brought to our electrical system.  Customers will be encouraged and empowered to become more active participants in their energy choices and modify their energy use. Less energy means we don’t have to build more power plants which can help reduce our carbon footprint.  In addition, the smart grid fully accommodates renewable energy resources such as wind and enables new products like electric vehicle programs.

The Smart Grid is:

• Efficient – capable of meeting increased consumer demand without adding infrastructure. 
• Accommodating – accepting energy from virtually any fuel source including solar and wind as easily as coal and natural gas.  Capable of integrating any and all better technologies
• Motivating – enabling real-time communication between the consumer and utility so consumer can tailor their energy consumption based on individual preference, like price and/or environmental concerns.

The project is being funded, in part, through an $84 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (http://www.oe.energy.gov/smartgrid.htm) Smart Grid Investment Grant, which is a nationwide effort to improve the nation's electrical grid. The grant, matched by DTE Energy, will enable the company to accelerate its deployment of Smart Grid technology and install 600,000 advanced meters by 2012.  Read the news release.

Find out more on our Advanced Metering Web page.

E-mail us at smartcurrents@dteenergy.com.