The nascent smart grids sub-sector in the United States received a boost on the 27th of October when President Barack Obama announced that US$3.4b worth of stimulus money will be given as grants to help build improvements to the current grid system which has been criticised by Carol Browner, the Presidential advisor on climate change as "outdated and dilapidated". The amount is the largest ever allocated on a single day from the US$787b stimulus package which was approved by Congress early this year.

The grant, which will be distributed to 100 successful companies, utilities, manufacturers and cities across 49 states, is expected to help boost the industry and in doing so create tens of thousands of jobs. The main objective though is still the improvement of the US electric grid. As such, 18 million smart metres to help consumers manage their energy usage, as well as 700 automated substations to speed up the time it takes to restore lost power, and 200,000 smart transformers that will enable power companies to identify failing units and replace them will be bought by the money.

Apart from the government grants, the winning companies have also managed to secure US$4.7b in private grants to add on to the money from the Treasury. The total money secured – which reached up to US$8.1b – is an indication of the prospects for smart grids in America.