(10/13/09) Back before health car reform took over Washington, energy independence and efficiency were top priorities for the Obama Administration and Congress. Lawmakers and the President still say a new national energy policy is on the agenda. The phrase on everyone lips is the "smart grid," a high tech replacement for our old 19th century electricity grid. The stimulus package includes $5 billion for smart grid projects and billions more for related weatherization and energy efficiency projects. Experts say the smart grid will make power cheaper, use less fossil fuels that cause global warming, and make our electricity more reliable and secure. Who will make sure the new smart grid does lives up to the promises? That's the question Steven Bird asks. He studies the politics of electricity at Clarkson University. He told David Sommerstein the smart grid is being asked to do an awful lot.
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