Galvin Initiative to Congress: Smart Microgrids Are Best Solution to Achieve Obama’s Energy Priorities Quickly, Efficiently

***Interview Alert***

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, praised President-elect Obama for prioritizing smart grid modernization and energy efficiency programs under the stimulus package yesterday, but according to the Initiative, smart grid technology in a so-called national transmission grid is only part of the equation. The Initiative points to smart microgrids as the best solution to quickly and effectively accomplish Obama’s energy goals: saving money; protecting the nation’s power sources; and delivering clean, alternative forms of energy to consumers in the U.S.

Smart microgrids — small, local, modernized versions of the electrical grid that carries bulk power across the country — are the most secure, efficient, reliable and cost-effective method to bring the nation’s ailing and obsolete grid infrastructure into the 21st century. The Initiative is calling on the incoming administration and Congress to pass federal mandates that shift control over local power distribution grid infrastructure from state regulators and utilities to consumers and municipalities, allowing for the development of smart microgrids nationwide.

WHO: Kurt Yeager, executive director of the Galvin Electricity Initiative, president emeritus of the Electric Power Research Institute, chair of the World Energy Council Study on Energy and Climate Change and co-author with Robert Galvin of the book, Perfect Power: How the Microgrid Revolution Will Unleash Cleaner, Greener, and More Abundant Energy.

WHY: “President-elect Obama understands that smart grid technology is a requirement for an efficient power system that incorporates alternative energy sources, but the best environmental and economic return on investment will come in the form of smart microgrids,” said Yeager. “What he is suggesting for government buildings could be the basis for smart microgrid development under the stimulus plan, and with the right federal action, this approach could be implemented at the local, community level, directly benefiting the taxpayers who are bankrolling this legislation.”

WHEN: Interviews are available by request. Please contact Crystal Borde at 202-331-4323 or cborde@vancomm.com

The Galvin Electricity Initiative, launched by former Motorola CEO Robert W. Galvin, has brought together the nation’s leading electricity experts to reconstruct our electric power system into one that is more affordable, reliable and fuel-efficient. The Initiative has created innovative business and technological blueprints for the ultimate smart grid — a Perfect Power System, a smart microgrid that meets the needs of 21st century consumers and provides reliable, secure electricity regardless of nature’s wrath or security threats.

For more information on Perfect Power and smart microgrids, visit www.galvinpower.org.

SOURCE Galvin Electricity Initiative