Gold River, CA -  In the near future Sacramento-area utility customers will be able to trim their residential costs while helping regional conservation efforts thanks to a $127 million federal grant meant to build "smart grid" energy project that will be able to manage 600,000 smart meters.

Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA-03) advocated for the grant in a letter he sent to the U.S. Department of Energy on behalf of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) on July 27. Realizing that such a move would allow customers to easily and economically monitor their power usage, Lungren said the project was a win-win for personal and national stewardship of our resources.

"We have arrived at a point where our energy, environmental and national security interests all point to the need for a common solution," Lungren said. "This is why I endorse SMUD's effort."

Installation of the new equipment that will help SMUD customers monitor their energy usage (including programmable thermostats) could create some jobs temporarily as the program is rolled out in the weeks and months ahead.

To learn more about the smart grid program and how soon residents can begin using the technology, contact SMUD at   http://www.smud.org/en/Pages/index.aspx or call 1 (888) 742-7683)

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Congressman Dan Lungren serves as Ranking Member on the House Administration Committee in addition to serving on the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees