Political Quotes

“today I am proud to introduce the Smart Grid Act of 2015. America's trillion-dollar electricity grid is ill-equipped to meet the needs of the future. Grid outages and interruptions are estimated to cost taxpayers $150 billion annually, according to the U.S. Department of Energy DOE. At the same time, electricity demand is expected to grow 24 percent by 2040 and electricity costs for American consumers are expected to increase 18 percent over that same period. Yet the news is not all grim, the U.S. Department of Energy estimates that $46 billion to $117 billion could be saved in the avoided construction costs of power plants and transmission lines over 20 years, if the United States transitions to ``smart grid'' technologies. This bill promotes a more efficient and flexible electricity grid--an electricity grid that supports low-cost renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy storage, and helps consumers save money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The bill extends cost-share grant programs created in the Energy Independence and Savings Act of 2007, EISA2007, and sets DOE on a path to help create technology communication standards that will pave the way for innovation in new household appliances and save consumer dollars. Specifically, the bill will establish two DOE competitive grant programs to promote the modernization of the electricity grid.…”