From BusinessGreen.com

The US moved a small step closer to delivering on President Obama’s vision of a nationwide smart grid last week, after the Department of Energy (DoE) announced it will soon release of the first set of draft standards for smart meters and intelligent devices that could connect to the grid.

The trailing of the new draft standards, which will be subject to a 30 day comment period, was accompanied by the announcement that $10m in additional funding will be made available to further the development of interoperability standards, designed to make it easier for manufacturers of electronic devices to connect appliances to the smart grid.

From BusinessGreen.com

The proposals set a goal of ensuring every home and business in the UK has smart meters installed by 2020, capable of providing real-time, accurate electricity and gas use data that will make it easier for people to reduce the amount of energy they use, switch suppliers, and ultimately take advantage of smart grid technologies.

“Smart meters will empower all consumers to monitor their own energy use and make reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions as a result,” said energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband. “Smart meters will also mean the end of inaccurate bills and estimated meter readings.”